Frozen through Time
by NoxisZero
Summary: A boy was frozen in a cryogenic chamber during the Seven days of fire. 1000 years later, the boy is released, and he finds himself in a desolate world. This is based off the Anime ending. Rated T for violence.
1. 1000 years later

I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

"Nazo! Nazo!"

A boy of 17 years of age was shaken awake in his bed. The boy sleepily rubbed his eyes and mumbled, "What is it Mom? It is still too early for school…"

The women kept shaking her son, "Wake up and get dressed! We need to go to your father's work! We will be safe there!"

The boy shook his head to rid himself of sleep. Then quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to where his mother was waiting impatiently.

"What is the rush mom?" Nazo asked as he got his shoes on.

"Something is coming," was all the reply he got before the mom grabbed Nazo by the wrist and dragged him out the door.

It was early, around 1 AM in the morning, so why was it that people were running about in a panic? Far away, it seemed the sun was rising, for an orange glow emanated from that direction. Nazo would have been willing to believe it too, if not for the fact that the orange glow was in the west direction, and that giant humanoid figures that seemed to be made of Plasma were not walking around.

"What the hell are those!?" Nazo yelled as he was thrown into the vehicle, and mother got into the driver's seat.

"I don't know, Nazo, and I don't want to stay long enough to find out," was the mother's response as she started the vehicle and they took off, flying away from the carnage. The ride was silent. The mother was focused on driving, while the boy could only look around in horror as he watched the giants fired laser after laser creating massive explosions. After was seemed like hours, the two parked the vehicle in front of a building. Technically, they would get fined, but they didn't really care at that point. They ran to the entrance where father let them in. The three embraced for a second before they let go.

"Dad, do you know what is going on?" Nazo asked, trying to sound calm… He was obviously shaken, but he was doing his best to stay collected.

The father shook his head, "No, I have no idea what those things are, but they are far away, we don't know if they will come over here next or just miss us all together."

The father beckoned the wife and son toward the back of the building, passing through doors they came upon an empty room with panels on the walls.

The father ran up to one of the panels and pressed in a key code. A cryogenic chamber rose from the floor.

Nazo took a step forward in interest. "Dad, you perfected it?"

The father nodded once while briskly walking to the other side of the room, keyed in another code opening a side closet full of suits. "Nazo get over here and put one of these on."

Nazo walked over and picked out one of them and strapped it on.

"Dad? Why am I putting this on anyway? Wouldn't it be hard to move in this?" Nazo asked as he finished putting the suit on.

"Nazo put on a breathing apparatus as well," was all the reply his father gave as he walked toward the cryogenic chamber.

Nazo picked up a device that looked like a dust mask and strapped it on, then walked over to his father who was beckoning toward him. The father put his hand on Nazo's shoulder.

"Nazo… look, we don't know what the hell those things are, but they are destroying everything. You will be safest in this chamber, the glass is a polypropylene composite that is the strongest my company has made. It was not released to the public due to manufacturing costs. "

Nazo took a deep breath, "Is this the only way Dad? There has got to be a better solution that this."

The father shook his head, "I would not suggest this if we had any other option son, please, trust me."

Nazo nodded once in acceptance. He hugged his parents tightly before he climbed into the chamber. His mother stepped forward. "We will get you out as soon as this whole thing blows over, ok dear?"

Nazo smiled, though it was unseen due his mask, "Ok mom, see you later…"

With that the capsule was closed and the Nazo slowly shut his eyes…. His last thoughts seemed to echo around his mind as he fell unconscious. _"Later…. Huh?"_

After the cryogenic chamber was secured, the machine set the date for a thousand years, as it was the date programmed into the system. The parents were already running toward the roof, to get into the father's air transport vehicle, to fly far away from the advancing beasts. They got in and took off, adamant at staying alive so they could later reawaken their son. As fate would have it, 3 days after Nazo's sealing, the parents were caught by not the giants, but people trying to survive. They were dragged from the vehicle and were killed by people who were in a panicked mess.

* * *

Approximately 1000 years later…..

In a ruined building, which was on the very edge of the poison forest, a capsule cracked open releasing a boy. The boy lay there for around 3 minutes, getting feeling back into his body. He finally got up and slowly lifted himself from the capsule. Nazo slowly looked around.

"Mom? Dad? You guys around here?" Nazo called out. There was no reply. Nazo started to look around the dreary room. It seemed everything was covered in a layer of dust and pieces of concrete sitting around. There also seemed to be a powdery substance in the air. Sort of like a miasma. Nazo continued to search around, he went to open the door, but found it was falling off its hinges. With a few rams he was able to bash the door to the ground. He proceeded to look around the dirty building. The equipment had faded and worn away to nothing. Nazo heard a crash in the room that he had awoken in. Curiosity getting the better of him, he wandered back toward the room. He did not expect to find what he saw now. It was an overgrown insect that had bashed through the wall and was now carelessly walking around. It was grotesque; the giant legs had hair on every single inch. Its wings were torn in several places. The compound eyes looked dull and faded, as if it were a mindless being.

"What the hell is that? Why is it so big?" Nazo muttered as he continued to watch behind the door frame. Eventually the bug gave out a shriek and charged at Nazo, with its claws ready, Nazo dodged into the room to avoid getting sliced. The bug whirled around and attacked blindly again, forcing Nazo to jump to the side. The bug crashed into the cryogenic chamber shattering the covering. Shards of different sizes flew everywhere; smaller shards went further, while larger shards fell near the capsule. The bug turned slowly and charged again. Nazo jumped forward and dived under the flying insect.

"_There is no way in hell I can fight this thing!"_ Nazo thought as he got off the ground. Then he noticed it. A relatively large shard of glass sat near him. He remembered his father's words.

"Glass based polypropylene… I'll give it a shot…" muttered Nazo as he ripped the suit he was wearing. He tore a long, wide strand from the suit. When the bug attacked again, he ran towards the piece of glass. He knelt down and wrapped one of the ends up in the strand of cloth. Then he picked it up and held it out like a sword. The bug had rounded at this time and started to charge at him. Nazo wound up and swung his makeshift sword at the bug. The makeshift blade did cut, albeit the recoil also cut Nazo's hands. The now bleeding bug recoiled in pain and slammed into the wall. The building shook.

"_Now is a good time to get out of here!" _thought Nazo as he dashed out of the hole that the bug had earlier created. Nazo vacated the premise as the building collapsed, taking the bug, and his sleeping pod with it. Nazo sighed and shrugged his shoulders and sat down to tend to his bleeding hands. He tore off the outer suit and fashioned makeshift bandages out of them for both his hands. Then he picked up his "weapon" and started walking. He was at the edge of the forest and wasteland. He was against going into the wasteland, since he would probably starve to death, but going into the forest only to find several more bugs larger than life was not appealing, so he walked on the edge keeping his eyes peeled for anything that could potentially attack him.

* * *

Nausicaä loved flying. The feeling of the wind rushing through her hair ever since she was young was an enthralling experience that she would never forget. The first time she and her father had jumped off the cliff in the valley and let the winds take them up in their current was exhilarating. She had practiced from then on, and eventually was allowed to her own devices. Her glider, which she named Mehve, was her constant companion during her travels to the toxic forest. Today was no different. She was on a routine trip to the toxic forest. Her mind started to wander.

It had been one year since she had been revived thanks to the Ohmu. The forest within the valley was slowly re-growing. It would take many years for the forest to eventually grow back to what it was. The fields that were burned during the Tolumekian Invasion were slowly being regrown. Life was slowly starting to get back to normal. Lord Yupa had traveled out again. The discoveries he would find would be anyone's guess. Asbel had gone back with the Pejitei ship to reorganize his people. They had found a place not far off of the valley. Afterword, Asbel went out to travel with Lord Yupa. She shook her head to clear it of thoughts as she concentrated once more to gliding down toward the forest. She spotted something in the distance. A faint glint of light was moving at slow speed at the edge of the forest. Nausicaä decided to investigate. She angled her glider downward and accelerated to where the glimmer was. As she closed in, she could make out the glimmer as some sort of clear object, with a boy with black hair around the same age as her holding it. The boy was looking from side to side, as if prepared for a fight at any moment. Nausicaä decided to call out to the boy.

Nazo did not know how long he had been walking. His throat was dry, his feet were heavy, but he did not even dare stop. If he let his guard down, it could potentially go downhill.

"Hey! What are you doing?" A voice called out as if from nowhere. Nazo started for a second and looked to where the voice had come from, the sky. To his genuine surprise, a girl around his own age wearing a very blue outfit with a striking contrast of red hair was gliding above him. She landed nearby, got off her flying device, and approached him.

"So, what are you doing?" asked the girl as she stopped in front of him and put her hand on her hips. Her uniform was odd to say the least. She had blue boots along with a blue top that was like a long sleeve shirt, mini skirt combo along with tan leggings. Her mouth was covered by a brown breathing mask.

Nazo scratched the back of his head. "Can't say I am up to much, right now I am just trying to find civilization… would you be so kind as to tell me the year?"

The girl cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Year? Geez, are you making fun of me or something?" The girl narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

Nazo frantically waved his hand, "No, No! I just came out of a cryogenic chamber! I have no idea what is going on. I just want to know the year."

The girl put her hand to her chin, "Cryogenic…. chamber?"

Nazo sighed. _"Am I out in the boonies? Dad's building was in the middle of main street."_

Nazo shrugged, "I guess you don't know what I am talking about… Could you point me to the nearest civilization then?"

The girl nodded and pointed toward the sun. If you travel that way you will reach the Valley of the Wind, in about 20 minutes…"

Nazo smiled…

"…By glider"

And just like that the smile fell.

"And how long would it take to get there on foot?" Nazo asked, hoping it would not make too much of a difference.

The girl rubbed her chin, as if calculating the distance. "Well… If you cut through the poison forest, it might take 3 hours, assuming no bugs attack you. If you traveled around the poison forest, might take the rest of the day."

Nazo deflated at the prospects. "You wouldn't happen to be willing to lend me a ride to your civilization would you?"

The girl seemed to grin, as her eyes gained a happy look, "Sure, why not? The name is Nausicaä, princess of the Valley of the Wind. What is your name?"

Nazo extended his hand in greeting, "The name is Nazo Nōryoku, while I am not a prince or anything, I am the son of an engineer and a doctor, pleased to meet you." They shook hands. Nausicaä led him over to her glider. After instructing him to lay down, she pressed a switch and took off. Nazo's eyes widened at as he took in the sights below. But the sight was not one of mystifying glory, it was a sight of obliteration and wasteland. As Nausicaä flew back towards the Valley, Nazo watched the land roll by, and wondered, where in the world was he…

* * *

Thank you for reading this story. If you want to know what "Nazo" means, it stands for "mystery" or "unknown" while his last name, Nōryoku, means "ability." I have a detailed bio of Nazo on my main profile, if you are interested, but there is no need to check it. As the story advances, more pieces will be added to the bio.

I would love for you to review this piece and any chapter that is to come. Reviewing is the best feedback, as long as it is insightful. If you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.

Thank you yet again for any and all feedback.


	2. Welcome to the Valley of the Wind

I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

Nausicaä flew over the hills that surrounded her nation, and started to glide down. From this point she could see the Windmills spinning, the castle, the fields, and even the recovering forest. For Nazo, it was incredible. All he had seen was poisonous trees with thick Miasma hanging in the air, or a desolate wasteland. Here, in the Valley of the Wind, trees were growing happily, free of poisons. The plants looked full of life, and it was a lot less dreary. He even saw children playing in the fields. It was all in all a lot more lighthearted than the lands that lay behind the hills. Nauscaa touched down on a hill near the castle. She jumped off and Nazo stood up and surveyed the surrounding area. The smell was extremely nice. The air that they had been breathing back near the forest was full of particles, basically an air of death. This air seemed near pure, and was refreshing. Nazo picked up his weapon and turned to find a group gathering around him and Nausicaä.

"Princess! Who is this that you have brought back with you?" An old man asked as he burst through the crowd.

Nausicaä laughed and took off her mask. "Don't worry Mito. His name is Nazo; he was wandering near the edge of the forest when I found him. He needed some help so I brought him here."

Nazo took off his mask and smiled, "Nice to meet you everyone, my name is Nazo, and I am happy to make your acquaintance!"

The response he got was less than reassuring as all the people around him just seemed to stare at him, as if sizing him up.

Nazo scratched the back of his head, "Umm, is something wrong?"

The villagers look around at each other until Mito commented, "Your clothes look odd, there are no pockets for your flares, nor do you have goggles to protect your eyes. Plus which nation uses that sort of mask, where do you come from child?"

Nazo sighed, "Simply put, the long answer you probably wouldn't get, and the short answer… would be 'the past.'"

There was murmuring from within the crowd. Nauscaa decided to speak up. "Everyone! Our guest is a bit tired, once he has rested a bit, he will answer more of your questions. For now, please return to your daily routines!" The crowd seemed to be satisfied by their princess' decision and left right after.

Nausicaä sighed, "Nazo, Mito, let's go to the castle to talk to Obaba." Nauscaa turned to Nazo. "She will be able to answer some of your questions, since she is the wisest of our village." The trio entered the castle and after being disinfected of any potential spores, they went to visit the "wise women" of the nation.

Obaba was sitting in the late Lord Jiru's room and seemed to be sewing something, when the door was opened, Obaba stopped and turned to face the three.

"Ah! Nauscaa darling! Have you returned already? And why have you brought Mito with you…. And who is this person? I have never seen him in my life before!" the old women exclaimed.

The three greeted the old women and Nausicaä introduced Nazo to Obaba. A soft scampering was heard and a small creature came into the room. Nausicaä smiled. "Teto!"

The fox-squirrel ran up Nausicaä's outstretched arm and rested on her shoulder. Nazo looked at it questioningly, but said nothing.

The four sat down and Nazo began to explain his tale. "The last things I remember are being woken up by my mom, and being rushed out of the house. We got to my father's work place and I was sealed in a cryogenic chamber. They promised me that they would release me when the whole thing blows over."

Nausicaä paused him there. "You said that when we first met, what's a cryogenic chamber?'"

Nazo nodded once, "To put it simply it is a device that lowers your heart rate and all other natural functions to near a deathlike state. Since all your body functions are slowed to a crawl, you can essentially travel through time without aging."

Nausicaä rubbed her chin thoughtfully, as if wondering how a thing was even possible.

Mito asked next, "Why did your parents put you to sleep in the first place?"

Nazo snapped his fingers, "Unfortunately I have no idea what they were, from what I could see, they were giant humanoid creatures that could fire lasers from the mouth. The destruction that they were causing was incredible."

Both Mito and Nausicaä seemed to bristle hearing Nazo's words. It was no surprise why. Nazo was talking about the infamous Seven Days of Fire that occurred 1000 years ago. Mito had seen its destructive capabilities himself when princess Kushana has used an infant God Warrior to fight off the Ohmu rampage around a year ago.

Nausicaä spoke, "Nazo… I think I know how long you have been asleep." Nazo turned to face her.

Nazusicca continued, "1000 years ago, this planet was ravaged by the God Warriors using poisonous light to destroy this world. They roamed this landscape for seven days incinerating the surface. Those days became known as the Seven Days of Fire. The creature you described… that is exactly what a God Warrior looked like, and acts like. Nazo… you are 1000 years in the future right now."

Nazo put his hands to his forehead, then he took a deep breath. "Alright… now that I know where I am, please tell me about the world right now."

Nausicaä nodded and started to tell him everything she knew, with Mito and Obaba throwing in bits of information as well. Nazo learned of the poisonous forest and the insects that inhabit it. He learned that the poison forest was purifying the ground and stabilizing the environment, slowly but surely. He learned that all the engines and motors they had were excavated in a far off land called Pejitei, which was now destroyed. He learned that the surviving nations were far apart and scattered far and between thanks to the poison forest, but even then they did not work together. They would constantly fight over the resources that the other could procure. It was a desolate world, where technology from the past was all they had.

As Nausicaä finished, Nazo stood up. "Nausicaä, could you take me to that gunship you mentioned? I want to see something."

Nausicaä looked at him funny, but nevertheless led him downstairs to the hanger where the gunship sat. Nazo jumped in and started to examine the engine.

"Hey… This engine is ancient, you have any parts lying around?" asked Nazo as he popped his head up and jumped out of the plane. Nausicaä pointed to the corner where there were wooden crates covered in tarps. Nazo walked over and pulled back the tarps to reveal all sorts of mechanical parts and such. Nazo started to gather parts in his arms. He then walked over and took some tools hanging off the wall.

"Umm, Nazo, what are you doing?" asked Nausicaä as Nazo walked over to the gunship.

"hmm? Oh! I am tuning the engine to perform better. There are tons of this you can to do to that type of engine to make it much more efficient, higher output, lower fuel consumption, etc."

Nazo jumped up onto the plane once more and started sorting the parts he had collected. Nausicaä jumped up onto the plane as well and looked into the cockpit where Nazo currently sat.

"You sure you know what you are doing?" asked Nausicaä in a worried voice, as Nazo started to modify the engine.

Nazo turned and smiled at her, "I told you didn't I? My father was an engineer. I learned all about machines when I was young, since dad always had few in the garage. These types of engines were always lying around, so I know a lot about them. My dad helped me out constantly to improve these."

Nausicaä watched with fascination as Nazo's hands moved extremely swiftly, dismantling parts, adding pieces he had brought, and eventually reconstructing the entire thing.

"There we go! Finished! Said Nazo while he stood up and stretched. Nausicaä looked at the engine and frowned, the engine looked exactly the same.

"You sure it is any different than how it was before Nazo?" asked Nausicaä.

Nazo chuckled a bit, "Quite sure, how about you hop in and test it yourself? I will be in the front."

Nausicaä shrugged and opened the hanger. She started the engine and accelerated and took off. She noticed a few differences immediately. The engine was quieter. It no longer sounded like a muffled flame waiting to burst out. When she accelerated, it was quicker than what she was used to. She flew a couple of laps around the valley then went back to the hanger.

"So how was it?" asked Nazo as he jumped out of the front cockpit.

Nausicaä smiled, "it was better than before, but only a little… it is surprising that you knew how to do that."

Nazo shrugged, "Right now I am just happy there is something around here that I recognized."

Nausicaä and Nazo went back to the castle to discuss what Nazo would do. Nausicaä suggested that for now, a tour of town would be a start. So the two exited the castle and walked among the townsfolk. They were bombarded with greetings, mostly for the princess, but some were to Nazo as well. Nausicaä told him of the store, the bakery, and many other places around town.

After bidding the woods working shop good bye, Nausicaä finally brought up a question that she had wanted to ask since they started the tour.

"Why are you dragging that piece of glass around?" Nausicaä asked as she motioned to Nazo's makeshift weapon. She did have a point. Nazo had insisted on grabbing it before leaving.

Nazo looked down at it. "Well I was hoping there would be an armory or blacksmith around here, where they could make a handle for this thing. It protected me when I first woke up, and it is pretty durable.

Nausicaä giggled a bit, "Sorry, but I don't think a piece of glass would help you against anything larger than a fox-squirrel."

Nazo frowned, "Either way, is there an armory around here?"

Nausicaä nodded and led him down the pathway. After a short walk, they entered a building with clanging sounds coming from within.

Nausicaä called out, "Everyone! I brought a friend along." The majority of the people within all turned and enthusiastically greeted the princess. After she finished greeting everyone, she directed their attention to Nazo.

"This is my friend, Nazo, he was wondering if you could fashion a handle for his weapon," said Nausicaä as she pointed to the thing in Nazo's hand.

The group looked at it and then burst out laughing. One man yelled, "This kid is a riot! He thinks that that shard of glass is worth putting a handle on?" One of the men grabbed the weapon from Nazo's hand and laughed harder.

"Check this out!" the man said as he passed around the weapon to his peers." He thinks this lightweight piece of glass can be useful!"

Nazo took the blade back and narrowed his eyes, "I am not asking for your opinions, I am wondering if you can make a handle or not." One man rolled his eyes, while the others snickered.

"Tell you what kid," the man said as he drew his sword from his sheath, "This is my best piece yet. This ceramic blade has been tempered to perfection. If you can strike this blade with your 'weapon' and your glass doesn't shatter, I will make that blade the best handle in the whole Valley, free of charge."

Nazo smiled, "You're on." Nazo gripped the handle of the man's ceramic blade and placed the sword on the table. With his right hand he raised his own blade up. People started to back away, they didn't want glass shards hitting them. On the count of three, Nazo swung down as hard as he could, and the results surprised him. Like a hot knife through butter, the ceramic blade was sundered in two, as his blade passed though unimpeded. The room was deathly quiet.

Nazo turned to the man with a smirk on his face, "Best handle in the Valley, Free of charge right?"

The man looked on speechlessly for a second before he came to his senses. He stood up and marched quickly to the other side of the hall, and reached up to a blade that rested on a ledge. He took it down and walked back to the group, and handed it to Nazo.

"That blade is made of Ohmu shell. That was made by our Chief Blacksmith. Try your blade against that, if your blade doesn't break, I will personally ask our Chief to make you a handle."

Nazo frowned slightly, "Umm, there has got to be a gimmick or something…" He turned to face Nausicaä.

Nausicaä gave a half-hearted smile. "Your right Nazo, Ohmu shell is one of the toughest materials to date. Insect shells are an incredible material that puts ceramics to shame while Ohmu shell is the strongest of its kind. If you swing your blade at that, there is a high chance it will break."

Nazo frowned and turned to the man once again, "You want me to break my blade on this?"

The man shook his head, "Listen kid, with one strike, you were able to destroy my sword. I tempered that thing myself, and there were almost no defects. The chief even praised me on the detail of that sword. But still, you were able to break it in half. From your stature, you could not produce enough brute force to break it as clean as it did. Only Insect materials are known to be able to do that. I want to see the caliber of that weapon with my own eyes. If it breaks during this test, then I will craft a ceramic sword and knife set for you free of charge, so please…"

Nazo sighed, and laid the Ohmu blade on the table. He again raised his own sword with his right hand as people once again backed away. On the count of three Nazo brought down his blade. There was a harsh clang as the blades bounced off each other. The men came closer to observe the details. Nazo's blade looked how it came in, no sign of chipping. The ohmu blade looked fine as well. On closer inspection however, the ohmu blade was slightly chipped, proving that somehow, it had been damaged.

The man picked up the ohmu blade and placed it back on the ledge from where it came. He sat back down.

"Kid, where did you get that material?" was all the man asked. The other blacksmiths in the area all looked at Nazo expectantly.

Nazo sighed, "it was from my cryogenic chamber. The covering was a glass based polypropylene mixture. My dad created it. When I woke up, an insect attacked me, as I dodged out of the way, it shattered the cover and I grabbed this piece to fight."

The man nodded his head in understanding. "I see, could you lead us to where this chamber is? With this material, we could use it no matter how small. These glass bits could be fused to the end of a sword or pickaxe to be made more durable. Larger pieces can be used as knives and daggers. It is much lighter than an ordinary ceramic blade, this will revolutionize our life here."

Nazo held up his hands in a sign of defeat. "Sorry to say, after I slashed the bug, it recoiled into the building and the entire structure collapsed. The entire chamber is buried beneath the rubble. I surveyed it myself, there is no way we are getting any of those pieces out of there. Plus it is on the cusp of the poison forest. I doubt anyone would want to stay near there for too long."

The faces of the men became dejected, but it was understandable. A new material was in their grasp, but there was no way that they would wander near the poison forest. Their late king had been turning to stone since of the poison that the forest produced, and none of them were willing to take the risk. The man held out his hand.

"I will take the blade for now, and I will give it to the chief. I will also make a sheath for you as well, since you don't have one." The man said as he accepted the blade from Nazo.

Nazo bowed once in a sign of respect, "Thank you again."

Nausicaä asked, "When do you think the blade and sheath will be ready?"

"Give us two days," the man replied, "We don't know if we need to make a handle that fits like a glove for this blade, or if we can drill holes in it and apply a handle like that."

Nausicaä nodded and exited with Nazo trailing behind her. When they got far enough away, Nausicaä turned to face Nazo. "That was amazing!" she exclaimed.

Nazo raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

Nausicaä pointed back at the shop, "that blade was able to strike an ohmu shell blade without breaking, do you know how incredible that is? Throughout my entire life, insect materials have always been the best substance. There was nothing that was as durable and efficient as that! This is the first time seeing something that has anything near that strength!"

Nazo smiled, "umm thanks, I think?"

Nausicaä put on a pensive face, "Your blade was made from your capsule shattering from and insect… and it has the capabilities of cutting through their own hard shells? It is like a dream…"

Nazo put his hand to his chin, "Shattering Capsule…. Like a dream…. Shattered Dream."

Nausicaä smiled and took Nazo's hand. "There is one last place in our tour, come on."

The two walked for quite a time. The sun was beginning to set when they reached their destination. It was a hill overlooking the entire Village.

"This is the place we launch our gliders from," explained Nausicaä as she sat down. Nazo sat down next to her enjoying the view of the Valley alight with golden sunset.

"It is also one of my favorite places," continued Nausicaä, "since I am the princess of this nation, I like to sometimes get an entire view of the Valley."

Nazo turned to look at her, "and why is that?"

Nausicaä kept looking out at the valley, but she had a smile on her face. "I like seeing the entire Valley, because I can see everyone down in the Valley working hard. A ruler needs to know and love their people. When I want to motivate myself to do something extraordinary, I come up here and look over all my people. I think of them, and how I want to make their lives even better than they already are."

Nazo gained a pensive look, "You really are a selfless ruler, you know that?" Nazo leaned back so he was facing the sky, "Not many people can have that attitude and succeed. You definitely have my respect though, you're my age and yet the people of this valley love you."

Nausicaä turned to face Nazo and giggled. "Aww, you flatter me." The duo stayed there a bit longer before they both got up and started to head back for the night.

Nazo put his hands behind his head. "Now I have a new problem… Where am I going to sleep for the night?"

Nausicaä continued to keep walking but said, "Why don't you stay me with for at least two days? Consider it payment for tuning the gunship's engine. Plus you need to hang around anyway until your sword is done."

Nazo smiled warmly, "Thanks Nausicaä, you have no idea how much this means to me."

Nausicaä nodded once and kept walking back to the castle. After the two arrived they had a quiet dinner. Nazo and Nausicaä washed the dishes and put them way in the cupboards. The two then walked down the hallway to the guest room where Nazo would be staying.

"Sorry I don't have a change of clothes for you right now," said Nausicaä as they walked down the hall, "But my father has some of his old clothes. I will check tomorrow if some of them fit you.

Nazo nodded, "I appreciate it. I would not like to keep these clothes on… walking in the wasteland for half the day really was unpleasant."

Nausicaä chuckled a bit, and then opened the door that they came to. "Here is your room. Have a comfortable rest."

Nazo entered the room. It was a simple room, with just a bed and a table, but it was better than nothing. "Thanks Nausicaä, you have a nice rest as well."

Nausicaä waved good bye and closed the door. Nazo walked to the bed and laid down under the covers. He sat there, staring at the ceiling. He had a bed and roof over his head for now, but probably not for long. As his consciousness faded, he thought.

"_I need to stay calm… Mom and dad always told me that panicking never helps the situation. Tomorrow, I need to get some supplies, maybe a map of the known world. Uhh… I should just rest…"_

With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, waiting for a new day.

* * *

Far to the east, a man and child were riding two oversized birds.

"Lord Yupa! How long will it be before we get back to the Valley of the Wind?" the boy asked.

The old man let out a chuckle, "Around 3 days Asbel, why do you ask?"

Asbel looked up at Lord Yupa with determination in his eyes. "I am eager to see Nausicaä again. I want to show her how much I have improved, how much I have changed for the better since the last time I saw her."

Lord Yupa smiled from under his cloak. _"Young love is a funny thing, but I don't think Nausicaä is ready to get in a relationship yet."_

The two continued riding toward the Valley of the Wind.

* * *

Well there is the second chapter. I was planning to release this weekly, but I figured that having two chapters instead of one would increase interest. I still plan on releasing a new chapter on the 23rd, but hopefully more chapters will increase chances of reviews.

As some of you have seen, I have included some parts from the manga and incorporated it into my story, even though the story follows after the anime ending. I did this to make the story have detail and flow in a better direction. This means that it possibly could include some characters like Selm, Tepa, and even Heedras.

If you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.

If you are wondering about pairings, well I really can't say. The only genre for this story is "Adventure" so far, since I don't consider myself a good writer of the "Romance" genre. Right now, if I had to guess on a pairing it would be none. I would like to focus on Nazo's life as he adapts to his new environment.

Thank you again for reading this, and please review.


	3. A Rude Awakening

I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

It was still dark out, one could say that is was around three o' clock. Nazo was comfortably sleeping in his bed when the door creaked open. Nausicaä strode into the room and knelt down beside the bed, put a hand on Nazo's shoulder and started to shake it.

"Nazo, Nazo! Wake up!"

Nazo shot up, considering the last time he had been woken up, it was because giant monsters were attacking the city.

"What is it? Is the Valley being attacked?" Nazo said as he jumped out of bed. Nausicaä was calmly lighting a candle when she heard this.

"Hmm? No this is the usual time for everyone to get up. We start early in this village, and I suggest you do the same."

Nazo could not hide the frown on his face, "Uhh, still tired."

Nausicaä waved away his compliants, "You have been sleeping for 1000 years, there is no way you can be tired." With that, she placed down a set of clothes on the bed.

"These were my father's old clothes. The size might be not exactly right, but please bear with it."

Nazo nodded once and Nausicaä left to let him change. Through the door, Nausicaä said, "After you are done, come to the dining room, breakfast is already served."

Nazo stripped and put the clothes he had been given on. As Nausicaä had predicted, the clothes were bit baggy, but the problems that would occur because of it would be minimal. His outfit now was almost exactly the same as Mito's. There was just minor color variation. He still had brown boots and gloves. But his shirt and pants were both red in color. He picked up the goggles from the bed and put them on his head.

Nazo opened the door and walked down the corridor to the dining room. He arrived and spotted Nausicaä and Obaba eating. He sat down and joined them. They surprisingly had a pleasant breakfast full of conversation. Nazo told them of the wonders of the world of the past, from supermarkets to hotels to schools across the world. Nausicaä and Obaba told him the history of the Valley of the Wind. How their people settled there, and how the ocean currents produced the vital wind that protected them from the spores of the poison forest. After they finished eating and cleaning, Nausicaä told Nazo to meet her at the hill they were on yesterday.

* * *

"I am telling you that this is a terrible idea." Nazo said as he looked at the red glider in front of him.

Nausicca put her hands on her hips, "Honestly Nazo, you will be fine, look at all the children doing it!" She pointed toward the sky and sure enough at least 10 gliders were hovering on air currents.

Nazo sighed, "Once you have set your mind to something, you really don't give up do you?"

Nausicaä smiled and nodded, "Glad you noticed, now all you need to do is get on, and hit this button here, see? That will make a pedal come up from the floor of the glider, which you press with your foot. That will push your glider into the air, Then you just accelerate and you will be able to glide fine. I will take over if anything goes wrong ok? Now try it yourself, you will find flying will be fun."

Nausicca walked over to the red glider and laid down on it. Nazo walked over and stood on the glider. "hit the switch and like this?" Nazo muttered as he followed what Nausicaä taught him. A pedal came up, which Nazo stepped on. Immediately, the glider's thrusters ignited propelling the duo into the air.

Nazo gripped the handles tightly, then pressed another switch and the rear engine fired, moving them forward. Nazo eyes widened as adrenaline pumped throughout his system. Nausicaä was right, flying was amazing. The view of everything around you, the feeling of wind rushing past you, you couldn't get this feeling from riding in a helicopter or any other flying vehicle from his time. Nazo accelerated forward, banking left and right, rising up with the currents and falling with the downdrafts, eventually Nausicaä motioned for him to land. Nazo nodded and turned back to the hill where they had started, they gently glided back to the starting point and landed on the hill. Nazo jumped off the glider, and helped Nausicaä up.

"Looks like you were having a blast Nazo," chuckled Nausicaä as she folded the red glider's wings.

Nazo couldn't help but smile, "Man that was exhilarating! I understand why you wanted me to try it out."

Nausicaä laughed, "Well the sun has risen, and the ocean currents are becoming stronger, making the wind harsher. First time riders like you would have trouble in this wind, so we can practice tomorrow in the morning. For now help me carry this back, then we can get the ceramic swords."

Nazo walked over to the glider and lifted it with Nausicaä. "Swords? What are we going to do with those?"

Nausicaä just kept looking forward but responded, "Do you have any prior experience with swordsmanship? Your main weapon is a sword, so you need to be able to defend yourself."

Nazo sighed, "I took kendo lessons for some time way back. My interests turned to engineering after a while though, so I may be out of practice."

Nausicaä nodded, "then it would be best to start from the basics."

The two returned to the castle and retrieved some swords, somewhere wooden and others ceramic. The two then walked out to the grassy fields.

Nausicaä handed him a ceramic sword and wooden one as well.

"Place the wooden one aside for now," instructed Nausicaä as she put down her own wooden blade, "First I will instruct you on your stance."

Nazo did as he was told and took a normal kendo stance.

Nausicaä frowned, "What is that?"

Nazo looked at her confused, "This is the normal Kendo stance, is something wrong with it?"

Nausicaä sighed, "All I see is you waiting to get hit, grip your blade like this, and…"

The day marched on as Nausicaä instructed Nazo the use of a blade and the correct handling of one. After a few hours of instruction, they started to spar with the wooden swords. It was a simple game where 3 hits determined a winner. At first the spars were short, with Nausicaä winning every one. Just because she was his instructor, didn't mean she would go easy. After repeated duels, Nazo started to score hits on the princess, even winning a few. By the time noon rolled around, both combatants were worn out. Nausicaä suggested that they both head back to the castle for a lunch break.

"So what are we doing in the afternoon?" asked Nazo as he handed a washed dish to Nausicaä to put it away.

Nausicaä gave him a sheepish smile, "Sorry, but I have prior arrangements, so you need to find something to do in the meantime. You can practice your swordsmanship if you want."

Nazo shook his head, "I have a better idea. I am going to work on that gunship you have. The acceleration and deceleration systems on its wings should be easy to tune. Plus I can probably fix up the engine a bit."

Nausicaä smiled, "Sure, just don't break it. It is our one important weapon in wars."

Nazo nodded, "Alright, See you later."

Nausicaä bid him farewell and they went their separate ways. As Nausicaä worked in the fields, fixed windmills, and gathered ingredients for dinner for that night, she looked over the castle sometimes, wondering how Nazo was holding up. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Being thrown into an entirely new situation had to be stressful for him. When she listened to Nazo's story of his past, she understood that humans back then had a life of absolute convenience. Everything was only a push of a button away. Now everything had to be earned through hard labor, nothing came cheap. Even though Nazo put on a brave face, he must be worried underneath…

Nazo's thoughts were not on his past at the moment, rather it was on all the technological things that his father had taught him since he was eight. His father's knowledge and infinite patience was what helped Nazo become as experienced as he was now, and he was glad. If he had not known how to work machines, specifically this engine, he would have been entirely lost in this world. There would be nothing familiar to him. He didn't know even if he could have stayed calm in this situation. Nazo shook his head at his dark thoughts, he had to do what he could, if only to keep calm. A shuffling was heard behind him. Nazo turned to see the same creature he had seen yesterday behind him. Nausicaä had called it a fox-squirrel, and had named it "Teto" if memory served correct.

Standing up, Nazo walked over to the animal and knelt down beside it. "And what are you doing here?" asked Nazo.

The animal hissed at him and ran towards the crates of parts in the back of the hanger. Nazo scratched the back of his head, "Guess it is not friendly…"

Nazo walked over towards the crates to get more parts, as he gathered the mechanical items he needed he glanced down to see the little fox watching him carefully. Nazo shrugged, and continued to work. He walked back to the gunship and started to lay down the parts he had collected.

"Now to modify the wings…" muttered Nazo as he walked towards the left wing. He reached down without looking to grab the wretch that he had placed on the floor, only to feel something scamper up his arm. He froze and looked to his right. There on his shoulder was the "not so friendly" fox, looking back at him. Nazo sighed, and decided to keep working. As time passed by, Nazo lost the feeling of "hate" coming from the fox as he continued to work. By the time he finished the right wing, the fox was on his left shoulder sitting peacefully.

"So Teto? How do you like my work?" asked Nazo as he finished putting away the materials he had used for the day. It was time for dinner anyway. The little fox just gave a short, but happy "yip" sound. Nazo shrugged and walked back to the house with the fox contently sitting on his shoulder. As Nazo entered the kitchen, the fox jumped off his shoulder only to scamper up Nausicaä's arm.

"Teto!" smiled Nausicaä as the fox rubbed its face against Nausicaä's cheek, "Did you make sure Nazo didn't break anything?"

Nazo frowned at the comment, "I promised that I wouldn't break anything, your gunship should be better than ever now. Next I am thinking of looking at that glider I was using today."

Nausicaä perked up at this, "Oh? If so, could you look at Mehve as well?"

Nazo raised an eyebrow, "Mehve? What is that?"

Nausicaä laughed, "Oh! That is my glider's name."

Nazo nodded once in understanding, "Ok, do you want to make it faster or handle better?"

Nausicaä thought, "Can't you do both?"

Nazo shook his head in the negative. "I can make it faster regardless, but then at a certain point it becomes a trade-off, better handling or making it faster, obtaining both would be impossible.

Nausicaä nodded, "I see… hmm, then I give mine better handling, if you can."

Nazo nodded, "alright I will do just that." Dinner was served and the group ate. As Nazo retired for bed, He heard a rustling near the door. It was pushed open and Teto walked in. Nazo looked at it with a confused expression. The fox hopped up and curled up beside Nazo. Nazo reached out and pet the small creature which smiled in response. Nazo shrugged, he had an inkling of what was going on, but he would later ask Nausicaä for the details.

The next day repeated almost exactly like the day before. There was practice with gliders in the early morning, in which Nazo finally was able to control the glider while lying on the belt that the glider provided, making it more aerodynamic. The morning was sword practice once again for Nazo. Nazo was getting better. He was able to parry blows that he was not able to before. The princess usually won, but Nazo's wins were slowly increasing as well. After lunch the group split off like the day before with Nazo working on both Mehve and his own red glider. Teto joined him as well, and seemed content watching Nazo work. He increased the output of both their engines, and modified Mehve accordingly. He increased the thrust on the rear engine for his own glider to increase speed. As he finished Nausicaä opened the door to the hanger to tell him the dinner was ready. Teto jumped off Nazo's shoulder and ran to Nausicaä.

"Nausicaä!" called Nazo as he walked toward her.

Nausicaä turned, "hmm?"

"Are you telling Teto to keep me company? Last night he came to my room." Nazo said as he looked at the fox.

Nausicaä frowned, "So that is where he went last night, anyway, no, I usually let Teto do what he wants, if he is sticking by you, then there has got to be a reason. Usually fox-squirrels are against all human contact. They are wise though, so you should follow him if he wants you to."

Nazo raised an eyebrow, now he had another mystery to solve. The two went back to the kitchen and ate a simple dinner. As Nazo walked to his room Teto came up behind him and climbed up to his shoulder. Nazo smiled at him, "So, you willing to tell me why you have been sticking by me?" The fox just looked back at him and cocked his head to the side. Nazo let out a chuckle, and trudged into his room. As Nazo got ready for bed Teto ran to the bed and curled up and started to rest.

There was a knock on the door, Nazo opened it to reveal Nausicaä standing behind it.

"Nausicaä? Is something wrong?" asked Nazo as cocked his head to the side.

Nausicaä nodded, "About your stay here…"

Nazo suddenly went numb… He was too busy concentrating on fixing machines and sword fighting to realize the obvious point, tomorrow he would have to leave.

Nausicaä continued, "If you would like to stay here, that would be fine with me. You helped with the machines and other things while you were here, and I just taught you how to fly. It would be a shame if you never flew again. You would have to start helping around the village if needed though, since everyone is required to work, so what do you say?"

Nazo smiled, "Thanks Nausicaä, I have nowhere else to go, so I will do just that." Nausicaä nodded once, and after a "sweet dreams, she closed the door.

Nazo crawled into bed, making sure not to disturb the small fox, and he too drifted to sleep.

* * *

Nazo awoke early that morning. He did not know if getting up early was becoming natural to him, or if it was because he was going to finally get his blade back. Either way he changed into his uniform and strode out of his room to the kitchen. Nausicaä was currently inside making a meal, she turned toward him when he entered the room and gave a wave before returning to work. Nazo went and set the table for the group to eat. After the meal was made and distributed, they ate. The conversation at the table was as lively as last time. Nazo could barely get a mouthful before Nausicaä or Obaba was asking him another question, which he all happily answered. As they were washing dishes, Nausicaä continued to ask him questions.

"So your saying that this 'school' was a place where a lot of people gathered together to learn?" asked Nausicaä as she handed a plate to Nazo to put away.

Nazo nodded once.

Nausicaä shook her head, "And you hated going to school? to me that would be a really fun place."

Nazo scowled, "Trust me Nausicaä, if you lived in my time, you would not like going to school either."

Nausicaä shrugged, "You might be right, but if you look at it another way, you are able to hate it, only because you were fortunate to have it in the first place."

Nazo became uncharacteristically quiet at that point. "Yeah…. I know," muttered Nazo as he put the last dish away. "But if I think about it too deeply, I might lose my composure."

Nazo walked back to his room in silence and grabbed his mask. Nausicaä had told him to grab it before they left to pick up his sword. Nausicaä met him at the entrance of the castle.

Nausicaä seemed nervous, probably because of the comment he had made earlier. To ward off her fears, he smiled.

"Come on, let's go!" said Nazo as he walked past Nausicaä. Nausicaä looked at him curiously, then nodded once. Whether she was agreeing with him, or silently thanking him, it was unknown, but it didn't matter in the end, they had the entire day ahead of them, it wouldn't bode well for them to get off on the wrong foot. The two walked down the streets until they came to the armory. As the two entered they came upon a large group of men talking as they were getting ready for the day.

"Princess!" yelled one of the men that spotted the duo. Immediately, all other people in the building stopped what they were doing and greeted Nausicaä. Nausicaä smiled and greeted each by name. Finally, a large set man came forward with a sheath. A sword was tucked into it. The man handed the blade and sheath to Nazo. Nazo gripped the handle and slowly drew the blade out. In all common sense, the only thing that had changed was the handle, but Nazo got a different feeling from it that before. When he had first picked it up, it was only a makeshift weapon that was being used in desperation, but now, now it was considered one of the strongest weapons around, especially with a proper handle.

Speaking of the handle, it fit well in his palm. It was not overly large nor too small. The grip itself was superb, assuring that he would not lose the blade in battle if a powerful blow hit the sword. The nicest feature, by far though, was the fact that the handle was light. The overall weight of the blade did not change much. Nazo gave it a few practice swings before he sheathed the blade.

Nazo smiled, "Thank you all so much for making these things for me," as he gestured to the handle and the sheath. The blacksmiths smiled.

"No problem kid, hope you like it, we put a lot of time into it, but all of us can definitely say, that is really the best handle, if not the best blade in the Valley."

Nazo smiled and bowed once again to show his respect. With that, both Nausicaä and Nazo walked back to the castle. Nazo finished fastening the sheath to his person. The sheath lay in a similar place to Nausicaä's , it allowed for easy accessibility, when danger made itself known.

"So what's on today's agenda?" asked Nazo as they arrived at the entrance way to the castle.

Nausicaä ushered him inside and closed the door, "Well, first things first, you need to get used to that blade, so here is what I suggest would be best. We are going to use our gliders to go out to the wastelands, that will give you experience with your sword on your person while you are flying. While we are out there, you will train with that blade, slashing trees or rocks, while I practice with my glider, since you were so kind to modify it for me."

Nazo nodded once in understanding, and Nausicaä continued. "Finally, when we are returning, the situation will give you a chance to learn how to take off from somewhere other than the Valley hill."

At that point the two had retrieved their gliders and were walking towards the hill near the castle.

"Ready?" asked Nausicaä as she mounted Mehve.

"Ready," was Nazo's reply and he stepped onto his own glider.

The two took of simultaneously and sped off into the wasteland beyond the Valley. Within 20 minutes they were sitting near ruined buildings. Nazo pulled out his blade which at that point he had named "Shattered Dream" and started to practice his swordsmanship. As Nazo practiced, Nausicaä took off once again and tried to find out how much of better control she had of Mehve. She was not disappointed. As Nazo had promised, Mehve was faster. Not only that, but the way she banked left and right was much smoother than before. She even did a couple Aileron rolls to and was delighted by the ease in which she maneuvered. She was about to fly down and thank Nazo when something caught her attention. Two horseclaws were running across the desert, and the riders looked familiar. They were heading near where Nazo's location, so she glided down and called out to them.

"Lord Yupa! Asbel!"

Asbel looked up, and he saw her. Her blue dress complemented her red hair perfectly. She had a sunny smile on her face that could warm a heart, regardless if it was human or not. Nausicaä gently glided down and landed near them. She ran over and started talking to Lord Yupa enthusiastically. Asbel watched the scene play out with a smile. But then, Lord Yupa's gaze shifted, he seemed to be looking behind Nausicaä, Asbel looked to the right finally seeing a boy with a rather large, menacing blade in his hand. He wore red garments save for his boots and gloves, and he was coming right for them. Asbel didn't have time to think. He would not risk putting Nausicaä in danger, so he jumped off the bird and charged.

"Lord Yupa! Asbel!

Nausicaä's voice echoed across the plains, making Nazo take a break from his training. It seemed that Nausicaä was talking to someone she knew. Nazo walked around the debris of concrete and was met with a rather odd sight. Nausicaä was talking adamantly to an old man who seemed to be riding an oversized bird. The old man looked up and stared at him, recognizing his presence. There was also another bird with a boy around his age on it. Now the boy was getting off the bird. Now the boy was running at him while drawing his bla.. _"you have got to be kidding me"_

Asbel swung his ceramic blade at Nazo which he parried.

"Calm down!" yelled Nazo as he blocked yet another strike. The boy however was not willing to stop and listen.

The two boys clashed their blades again and again with Nazo frantically trying to talk some sense into the boy. Finally Nazo lost his cool. As Asbel swung with an overhead slash, Nazo brought his blade to the side and slashed at the other sword as it was coming down. The result was as he had hoped. The ceramic blade could not withstand the pressure and was cut cleanly. Nazo repositioned himself and pointed the tip to the boy's neck.

"I suggest you listen when someone wants to talk," Nazo spat out as he glared at the boy who had raised his hands.

"That is some fine advice you have there," said a voice, "I suggest you follow it." With that, Nazo felt a knife to his throat. It had all happened in an instant.

"Drop your blade," said the man standing behind him. Nazo knew better than to resist, the man behind him seemed out of his range, so he did as he was told.

"Nausicaä, pick up his sword, and Asbel, sheath your broken blade," Asbel did as he was told, but Nausicaä sighed and waved the insect shell blade away from Nazo's throat.

"Nazo are you ok?" asked Nausicaä in a worried tone as she picked up his blade and handed it back to him.

Nazo nodded, "Yeah, I am fine, but still a little on edge with someone attacking me." Nazo then sheathed his blade.

Nausicaä turned to both Lord Yupa and Asbel. "This is Nazo, I know him, so don't feel threatened." The two nodded and Lord Yupa sheathed his knife.

"Guess we got started off on the wrong foot," said Nazo as he stepped forward to Asbel, and raised his hand in greeting, "The name is Nazo, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Asbel looked a bit embarrassed, but nevertheless took Nazo's hand and shook it saying, "Nice to meet you, I am Asbel, prince of Pejitei."

Nazo nodded once and turned to the old man and offered him the same greeting. The old man, who identified himself as simply "Yupa" shook hands with him.

"I would love to chat some more," said Lord Yupa as he turned to face Nausicaä as well, but how about we all head back to the Valley. Both Asbel and I are tired from our travels; let us reconvene at the castle." Nausicaä nodded in understanding.

"Come on Nazo, let's go," was all Nausicaä said as she approached Mehve. Nazo nodded then ran to his own glider. Both of them took off and headed toward the valley leaving both Lord Yupa and Asbel behind.

Lord Yupa turned to Asbel, "We should depart as well, we are almost home." With that both males hopped on their birds and rode towards the Valley once more.

* * *

There was chapter three. I wanted to write the fight scene between Nazo and Asbel for a long time. I don't hate Asbel, it is just he is the only character that would attack Nazo blindly out of emotion.

Between the time of writing this, doing homework, sleeping, etc, I have been trying to get a better understanding of the Nausicaä universe, specifically the characters. I have checked up on the Wiki of the character bios, but only Nausicaä's is filled out, every other one is lacking (can't blame them though, entire manga is on Nausicaä and really nobody else) I have read a few other fanfictions of Nausicaä and the Valley of the Wind, and I am trying to incorporate what I see (that I thought was done well) into my story.

As always, If you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.

Thanks for reading this, please review.


	4. Peaceful Times

I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

Nazo glided on the currents as he watched Nausicaä fly up in the air. She was doing both barrel rolls and Aileron rolls. It looked like she was having fun. Nazo decided to test out his speed before they got back to the Valley. He placed his goggles on to ensure the wind didn't dry out his eyes and accelerated. The two practiced with their gliders all the way home. When they both landed, they could see Asbel and Lord Yupa just coming over the hills. The two went inside the castle to store the gliders away, then, went to meet the two at the entrance of the Village.

As expected, the majority of the Village was there to greet Lord Yupa and Asbel. They were asking for stories and tales of Lord Yupa's travels. The old man laughed and told each of them that he would love to tell then some stories, but for now, he had urgent business to attend to, then he pointed at Nazo. The crowd split up in understanding, but only after the made Lord Yupa promise to attend a party that they would hold in celebration of his return. Lord Yupa agreed, and soon Nausicaä, Lord Yupa, Asbel, and Nazo were walking back to the castle. After they dismounted the birds, took off the saddles and gave the birds food and drink, the four headed indoors to talk. They all entered the late king's room and sat down. Lord Yupa then turned to Nazo.

"Nazo was it? Tell me, what is your blade made out of?" asked Lord Yupa.

Nazo held up his hands, "I suggest I start from the beginning. If I just tell you that off the bat, you will have more questions than answers."

So Nazo told them of his last day in the Ceramic Era. How he had been woken up to run away from the God Warriors, how his parents had no choice but to seal him away in a cryogenic chamber. How he had woken up near the poison forest, and how he had grabbed at it as a makeshift weapon against the bug.

"So after I ran out of the building, I just walked on the edge of the forest for a time before Nausicaä found me," finished Nazo.

Lord Yupa leaned back in contemplation. "Amazing, a boy that was able to come to our time, and from the Ceramic era no less, truly nothing sort of a miracle. The people of the Ceramic Era were truly advanced beyond our wildest dreams."

Nazo nodded, "I see that for myself every day. Nothing is convenient. It is constant working here, back in my time, the children could go and hang out with friends until they were 24, but here, once you are 10-12, you are helping with your parent's profession. The work ethic here is incredible though, people don't complain, it is truly a remarkable place."

Asbel laughed at that, "I think that half of it is having a good ruler," as he gestured to Nausicaä, "but it is a live or die scenario here. If you refuse to work, you will not eat."

Nazo nodded, "Well, is there any other questions you have for me?

Lord Yupa nodded, "Countless, but first, tell us more about yourself."

Nazo raised an eyebrow before responding, "My name is Nazo Nōryoku. My father was an engineer, and my mother was a doctor. From a very young age both my parents showed me the wonders of each of their professions. While I did opt for engineering in the end, I still know some medicine. It is not like I can extend anyone's life for 100 more years, but I can do medical first aid, and know human anatomy well enough for some medical purposes. As for the engineering side, my father taught me almost everything he knows. He taught me tons of things, from upgrading engines, to maintaining it. I can't say that I know the exact physics behind everything, but I do know my way around machines."

Lord Yupa nodded at all of his points one by one. When Nazo finally finished, Asbel responded, "So that is why both of your gliders moved abnormally, you did modifications to it."

Nazo nodded to confirm his suspicions. Lord Yupa started to ask questions to Nazo one by one. The day drudged on, with the questions becoming fewer and fewer, until by noon, there were no questions left to be asked for the time being. Lord Yupa stood up.

"I don't know about the rest of you," Lord Yupa said, "But I suggest we get something to eat." The four went back to the kitchen and ate a meal. Afterword, Lord Yupa stopped Nazo before he went to the hanger.

"Nazo, I suggest you come with me instead of working on machines all day," the old man said as he led Nazo out the door.

Nazo looked at him oddly, "then what do you suggest?"

Lord Yupa pointed forward, and Nazo turned to look at what he was pointing at. Asbel was standing far away, waving a sword in the air.

"I am not called the best swordsman of the land for nothing," Lord Yupa said as he started to walk towards Asbel, "practice is the most important key of becoming better."

Nazo nodded and followed Lord Yupa until they reached Asbel. That afternoon would be the start of an intense training session with Asbel and Lord Yupa. Asbel had more experience in general, and could easily defeat Nazo, only reason he had "lost" was because he had been blinded with emotion, and Nazo's blade was something unexpected. His attacks were swift, and powerful. But even with his advantage of swordsmanship, Asbel was more of a pilot and used a gun more than a sword, so he still incurred hits from Nazo once or twice. Lord Yupa, however, was the stuff of legend. All his movements were like the wind that flowed in the Valley of the Wind. Silently, and stealthily, he would attack, without notice. With all the training Nazo had done, he couldn't hope to block any of the man's attacks, let alone scratch him. Just before dinner, Nazo was treated to watch a practice match between Asbel and Lord Yupa. The fight was astounding. The normally fierce Asbel, who attacked without conviction, stayed on the defense for almost the whole time. He did do a couple of swings and thrusts, but that ended in nothing. Finally Lord Yupa hit him with the 3rd tap and the match was over. Asbel collapsed on the ground exhausted.

"I still can't hit you once," sighed Asbel as he looked to the sky.

Nazo shrugged, "You haven't been practicing every day, like Lord Yupa, plus he has many more years of experience than you do. Don't get down by not being able to land a hit."

Asbel got up and pouted at Nazo. "Do you know how frustrating it is to not hit your opponent once?"

Nazo put his hand to his chin, "yeah, the twenty or so times I versed Nausicaä I didn't score a hit on her, but I didn't get frustrated about it, that would only make you lose your concentration."

Asbel sighed in frustration, "Let's just go eat something." With that he hopped up and after picking up his weapons headed back to the castle. Nazo and Lord Yupa followed. During the meal, Nazo asked how both Asbel knew both Nausicaä and Lord Yupa, which sparked a conversation of the year previous.

Nazo lowered his spoon slowly, "So let me get this straight... Nausicaä, you went and saved the person that tried to kill you, and after doing so, was shoved on a Pejitei ship, then went off to save the entire village from the Ohmu by returning their baby to them?" Nausicaä nodded.

Nazo sighed, "You are one amazing person you know that? Bet more than half the population in my time couldn't do half that stuff." With that Nazo stood up and washed his dishes, and put them away.

"Well then, I am off to bed," said Nazo as he waved his hand. Teto ran to him and jumped onto his shoulder.

Nausicaä laughed, "Seems he had taken quite a liking to you, are you feeding him chiko nuts or something?"

Nazo chuckled, "No, nothing of the sort, I still don't know what this little guy wants from me, but when I find out, I will let you know."

As Nazo walked back to his room, he thought about the three days he had been awake. They were all hectic, but fun-filled. As he entered his room, he noticed his old clothes; they had been washed by Obaba when he was out. Nazo walked over to them and picked them up, and he reminisced a bit. He remembered his parents, how caring and kind they were, he remembered what they taught him. A lone tear trickled down his face. Teto seemed to sense this and nuzzled against his cheek, snapping him out of his thoughts. He pet Teto, laughing as it nuzzled against his hand.

"Is that it?" muttered Nazo as he looked at the fox. "You knew I was feeling lost in this world and you wanted to keep my company?" The small fox seemed to smile and after licking Nazo's cheek, jumped off of his shoulder and onto his bed. Nazo changed his clothes and got ready to sleep. Teto curled up next to him and started to rest. Nazo yawned once, and too fell into slumber.

The next Months became like clockwork. Every morning was filled with glider and sword training. While Nausicaä still coached Nazo in gliding, Lord Yupa helped Nazo with his swordsmanship. The afternoons were the interesting parts of the day. Since Nazo was "free" most of the time, he would be asked to do favors around the village, or work in the fields. He got to know the townspeople, one by one, from all the young children to all the elders. Some days he would work on machines around the village, while others he just simply continued his sword training. Once Nazo became proficient in gliders, he was taught how to handle a gun. Nausicaä insisted that flares were important in this day and age.

Once or twice Nausicaä asked him to join her on one of her famous expeditions into the poison forest. They searched the place for Ohmu shells and other interesting discoveries. Nazo also made note of the fact that while most of the insects were indifferent to Nausicaä's presence, they would react, maybe even harshly when he approached. He had no idea what it meant, but for whatever reason it happened.

After four months Lord Yupa decided to depart back on his journey. In the morning, the town gathered to send him off. There were many "goodbyes", and "come back soon." Lord Yupa bid all of them farewell, then turned to Nausicaä and Nazo.

"Nazo, make sure you keep up your practice, you have improved greatly, but there is always room for improvement." Nazo nodded in understanding.

"Nausicaä, farewell and take care." Lord Yupa said as he saddled his bird. Lord Yupa jumped on and he was off.

The townspeople wandered back to their own houses to start the day. Nazo and Nausicaä walked back to the castle.

"Too bad Lord Yupa is gone," sighed Nazo as he opened the door, "Now I have nobody to train with."

Nausicaä raised an eyebrow, "What about Asbel and myself?"

Nazo sighed, "Your busy with tons of things in the village, I don't want to burden you more. As for Asbel, he comes and goes, so he is not a stable 'training' partner."

Nausicaä shrugged, "I don't mind helping you train, helps me keep up in practice as well, besides you need to practice."

Nazo couldn't deny that, while he was much better, he still couldn't hit Lord Yupa. The two fished out the wooden blades and went to the hill to practice. By noon, both of them were exhausted. Their fights, which used to take 5 minutes tops were now drawn out battles taking up to 30 minutes. The two walked casually back to the castle only to find Asbel walking up the path to the castle. The two greeted him, and went inside. After their meal, the three went out and helped around the village. Near the evening, Asbel climbed the hill that overlooked the village. He found Nazo sitting on the peak.

Nazo turned and waved, "Asbel, you want to sit down?" Nazo pointed to the ground next to him. Asbel shook his head.

"I wanted to ask you something Nazo," said Asbel as he stood behind him overlooking the town.

"Hmm?" was the halfhearted reply that was given.

Asbel cleared his throat, to get Nazo's attention. "Well... You see… um, Do you like Nausicaä?"

Nazo turned to Asbel and raised an eyebrow. Then shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Of course I like Nausicaä, she is kind, quick-witted, intelligent, honest, and sweet. How could I dislike someone who is so charismatic?"

Asbel frowned, "that is no what I…"

Nazo cut him off, "I know that is not what you meant, I am 17, and I know exactly what you are talking about. But let me tell you this. I am from the past, and while it does not look like it, my emotions are still in chaos. I am like a twig that has been thrown into rapids, I have no idea where I am, and no idea where I am going, I can only struggle to keep myself from drowning. Romance is the least of my worries."

With that Nazo hopped up and brushed himself off.

"And honestly," Nazo said as he started to walk away. "In this day and age, where marriage is no longer just, 'I love you,' but 'our marriage will make our people stop fighting, at least for a while,' I have no sway in political decisions. She is a princess, and I am a time travelling peasant. You have a much greater chance than me. Plus the fact that I think Nausicaä would rather hold off for a few more years, she is as eccentric as they come."

As he said those final words, he set off to a jog down the hill on a route back to the castle. Asbel sighed. That talk could have gone better. He too made for the castle.

* * *

The next morning Nazo was awoken to small paws hitting his face. Nazo opened his eyes to Teto pawing his face again and again. Nazo sat up and looked at the small fox, "Uhh, this is earlier than when Nausicaä comes to wake me, what is it?"

The small fox jumped off the bed and ran towards Nazo's clothes, as if telling him to put it on. Nazo did as the fox told him, after he got dressed and put on his sword, the fox ran to the door and waited for Nazo to open it. Nazo did so and the fox scampered down the hallway waiting for Nazo to catch up a few times. Nazo was led to Nausicaä's room, Teto pawed at the door and after Nazo opened it, the fox ran in and started to paw Nausicaä's face. Nazo stepped in as well and shook Nausicaä.

Nausicaä stirred, "Hmm? What is it?"

Nazo sighed, "Honestly, I have no idea, Teto was insistent that I should get up, then came here to…"

Suddenly, some people came rushing into the room, "Princess! Princess! A gun ship!"

Nausicaä quickly got out of bed, "Gunship? What do you mean?"

"A gunship has appeared in the Valley! We don't know why it is her-"

The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the Valley. Nausicaä immediately pulled on her dress and ran out the door, with Nazo close behind. The two arrived at the hanger looked to the sky. A red gunship flew around, barraging the Windmills with bullets until they crumpled and fell.

Nazo grimaced, "Nausicaä! Wake up Asbel and get in the gunship! I will distract it for now!" Nazo then ran over to his glider, and set it up.

Nausicaä however, would not hear of it, "Are you insane? All you have is a sword and flare gun! That is a gunship! It would be suicide!"

The words, 'bringing a sword to a gun fight', flashed in his mind, and he would have smiled if the situation was any less dire.

"It doesn't matter! Just hurry up and go!" Nazo said as he took off towards the plane. As Nazo approached the plane, the pilot saw him a ways off. He turned and shot, but Nazo banked and dodged. His glider was not as fast as the gunship, but it was faster than expected, and that was good enough. As the gunship angled around and started to come at his again, Nazo readied the accelerator. As soon as the gunship leveled, Nazo accelerated. The pilot was caught by surprise and angled away from Nazo. Nazo cursed, Nausicaä was right, as usual, having a sword while in an airplane battle did not make much sense. If he tried to swing at it while doing a fly by, he would just end up dropping the sword, or worse, injuring his wrist.

"_I could always just try and skewer the person,"_ thought Nazo as he turned his glider around. _"But I have my doubts that Nausicaä would appreciate that."_

"_At least I have the Flare gun," _thought Nazo as he glanced down at it. Flares did not travel in straight lines like bullets, so the idea of blinding him was futile, but it could serve as a distraction if needed.

Nazo glanced up to see the plane banking right and coming around to face him. He looked down and smirked. With that Nazo hit the accelerator and sped directly at the plane. The pilot gripped his controls tightly, and was about to shoot when Nazo banked harshly to the right. The pilot was confused, until a shot tore through his left wing. Nausicaä and Asbel had come in from his blind spot, underneath, and the pilot swerved and did a crash landing in one of the fields. Nazo angled his glider and flew down towards the wreckage. He landed nearby and raced towards the burning plane. The pilot was limping away from the wreckage when Nazo spotted him. The pilot tried to break into a sprint, but only fell over. Nazo walked over to the pilot and drew his blade. He held it to the pilot's neck.

"You're going to tell us why you attacked the Valley," said Nazo in a dark voice, with frown on his face.

The pilot fidgeted nervously, then, in a quiet voice he said one word, "War."

* * *

To be honest, I wanted to make the scene where Nazo fought the pilot much longer than it came out. Originally, Nazo would have used his blade and would have been much more daring with his attacks, going so far as cutting off the pilot's tail before Nausicaä and Asbel took him out of the sky. I was criticized for this, since going at such a high speed would prove to be near impossible for a normal human to do anything.

The conversation between Asbel and Nazo was planned for a long time. Back when I was thinking this up, I was adamant on making sure readers would not make comments on how my OC was getting the girl, thus is conversation was thought up. I was only now able to finally put this in.

As always, If you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.

Thanks for reading this, please review.


	5. Fight for your life!

I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

The mood was grim. Nazo sat inside his room laying on his bed. After he had apprehended the pilot, Nausicaä and Asbel had come, along with the rest of the villagers. The pilot was taken away by the princess and the elders of the village to discuss what should be done. Nazo was told to wait in his room until further notice. Nazo sighed.

"_Well I guess there is nothing I can do but wait."_

There was a knocking at his door. Nazo jumped up and swung it open to reveal a frowning Asbel.

"The council has discussed what to do, Nausicaä wants to see you." Asbel said. With that he turned around and led the way. After walking a few minutes, they arrived at the meeting area of the council. Some people glanced up when they saw Asbel and Nazo enter.

"Nazo, Asbel, have a seat," said Mito as he motioned to the floor. The two sat and the discussion began.

Nazo was the first to talk, "Not to be rude, but would someone kindly bring me up to speed on what is happening?"

Nausicaä nodded and spoke, "It seems the pilot is from a small tribe of Dorok. They heard what happened a year ago and believe I have the power to control the Ohmu. They fear that I will use that power to start expanding the Valley's lands, so this tribe made alliances with other tribes and are planning on declaring war. They are planning to send ambassadors in two days to discuss our surrender."

Nazo rolled his eyes and snorted, "Surrender? That gunship blew up a few windmills, but nobody was injured, there is no need to surrender."

Nausicaä shook her head, "The gunship was originally intended to do a lot more damage, and intimidate us. By the time the ambassadors would have arrived, they had intended us to be begging for the destruction to stop."

Nazo sighed, "Ok, so what is the plan now? Obviously the Valley is not going to unconditionally surrender."

Mito cut in, "The princess wants to discuss with the ambassadors and tell them they are misunderstanding, she is hoping to end this conflict with no blood spilt."

Nazo frowned, "While that is a good plan, do you have any back up strategy in case they still plan on attacking?"

Nausicaä nodded, "If the worst case scenario does indeed break out and the Valley is forced to war, we will be prepared. The gunship will ready to launch 24/7, and soldiers will be on high alert. I would not like it to come to that though."

Nazo nodded, "I understand, but why was I called here?"

Mito spoke, "Nazo, you have a sword that is superior to all other blades known to the Valley. We realize that you have far less training than some of our other soldiers, but if war does break out, could you fight alongside us?"

Nazo smiled and nodded, "I will join if need be, the Valley accepted me when I was lost, this is the least I can do for you all that have taken me in."

Nausicaä smiled, "Thank you Nazo, we might possibly go to war in three days, be ready."

Nazo gave a thumbs up and stood up, and started to walk away, Asbel walked after him.

"Nazo, do you what help with your sword training?" ask Asbel as he caught up.

Nazo frowned and shook his head, "No, sword fighting should be the last thing that we would need to do, I rather not run the risk of our soldiers getting injured."

Asbel frowned, "Nazo, you do realize this is war right? People will get hurt and die, it is inevitable."

Nazo shook his finger at Asbel, "That is not what I meant Asbel, I would like to reduce our casualties to a minimum. We can use other tactics rather than just hacking away with swords."

Asbel stopped and frowned, "What? Are we going to fire flares into their army?"

Nazo stopped and glanced back at Asbel, "No, we are going to use grenades."

Asbel cocked his head, "We are going to use strobe grenades to blind them?"

Nazo turned around and kept walking, "No, we are going to drop fragmentation grenades and induce panic."

After that short conversation, Nazo was not seen by either Asbel or Nausicaä. He had gone down to the blacksmith's and was not seen since. When Mito was sent to retrieve him for dinner, Mito returned empty handed and delivered a message from Nazo saying, "The lives of the Valley are much more important than a full stomach. I will return tomorrow."

* * *

The next day the soldiers were preparing for war. They sharpened their weapons, they checked their guns for errors. The entire village was on edge. Near midafternoon, Nazo came back to the castle with a rather large satchel. He was greeted by both Asbel and Nausicaä who were making their own preparations.

"What is that?" asked Asbel as be pointed to the satchel.

Nazo carefully took the bag off and placed it on the table. He then opened it and started to bring out items. They looked like carefully constructed clay pots that fit in the palm of the hand. Others were much smaller, and were fashioned with flare casings.

"This is what I have been working on for the past two days." Nazo said as he finished unloading the bag, "These are the fragmentation grenades that I was talking about."

Asbel scratched his head, "Fragmen-too-tion?"

Nazo sighed, "Shrapnel grenades, when these explode the metal that is packed inside will be propelled outward thanks to the explosion, harming anyone in the blast radius."

Nausicaä's face screwed up in disgust, "Are these really necessary?"

Nazo raised an eyebrow, "Necessary? I guess not, but it will provide an overwhelming advantage against our enemies. From what I was able to gather, all grenades you know of are just bags filled with gunpowder that explode on impact right? This does much more damage, and will provide panic within their army. A normal grenade will not do as much damage, and people will be wondering how they were injured from so far away."

Nausicaä sighed, "I just hope we get everything explained tomorrow."

Nazo nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I rather have this stuff and not need it, instead of need it and not have it, but in any case, you two will need to learn how to use these. Especially you Nausicaä, since you will be using some of the flare rounds that I made if we go to war such a small object."

After Nazo finished explaining the proper usage of the weapons, it was time for dinner. The three ate in silence, since everyone else was either preparing for war or they were already resting. After the meal, the three retired to their quarters. Nazo noticed that Teto was not in his room when he entered.

He smiled, _"Comforting Nausicaä this time eh? Well, she definitely does not want this war to go through, so she will need all the strength she can get."_ With that Nazo laid down in his bed, and closed his eyes.

* * *

The two ambassadors were met by Nausicaä, Asbel, Nazo, Mito, and a slew of other council members on the edge of town. Nausicaä, Asbel, Nazo, and Mito moved forward to greet them.

Nausicaä adamantly explained the misunderstanding, and asked for peace. The ambassadors however, were not as ideal as hoped. They said they would guarantee peace, if and only if they were paid reprimands for their destroyed gunship, and could take Nausicaä as the wife of their elder to guarantee no hardships between them. Mito refused the ridiculous demands and told them to leave. The ambassadors left, threatening war the next day.

Nazo scowled, "Didn't know there were such arrogant people in the world, it is like stabbing someone in the back and demanding an apology for getting in the way."

The group turned back and told other council members of the fate of the Village. Immediately the villagers ran back to tell the entire Valley of the news. The Valley immediately got to work. The women and children started baking bread and other foodstuffs in case of siege. The soldiers continued discuss battle strategies and plans for the upcoming invasion. Nazo worked on more grenades. Asbel and Nausicaä prepared in their own separate ways, Asbel learning to control the gunship in a better fashion, and Nausicaä calming and encouraging the Villagers that everything would be alright in the end.

* * *

The army of the Dorok's poked their heads over the Valley's mountains when the sun rose. Some were fitted with ceramic armor, while others had only had a chestplate. All of them had ceramic swords, with the occasional Ohmu blade. They also carried guns on their hips. Nausicaä and Nazo glided on the winds thanks to their gliders, and when within shouting range, the leader of the Dorok army spoke.

"This is your last chance Valley of the Wind!" yelled the general, "Surrender now, or face the consequences of utter defeat!"

Nazo scowled, "I suggest you retreat if you know what is good for you!"

The general smirked, "There is nothing a kid like you can do! You have refused to listen to our demands! Now watch as your precious valley dies!" With those final words, the general raised his arm and shot a flare into the sky, immediately three gunships flew over the mountains towards the Village. The Valley's own gunship launched out of the hanger with Mito and Asbel piloting. They caught one of the aircrafts by surprise and shot it down, the other two rounded and soon the three gunships were in a dogfight.

Nazo grabbed an item from his belt and threw it. The small object sailed through the air and landed in the middle of the army, and promptly exploded. The metal shredded through the armor and skin of all surrounding soliders, cries of pain and panic emanated from the spot as the army tried to move away from that spot.

"What are you doing fools!" shouted the General, "Shoot them down!" The soldiers who were not in panic aimed to the sky and started to fire, Nazo and Nausicaä sped away on their gliders, but no before each throwing a grenade down toward the army. The explosions and the cries of pain and agony mingled together in dissonance. There was another explosion heard and the second of the three planes of the Dorok was taken down.

"Come on Nausicaä! Let's scare them off!" yelled Nazo as he rounded his glider around to face the army once more. The army was running down the cliff side, desperately trying to spread out to not be hit by the small exploding orbs that the two possessed. Nazo grabbed two more grenades off his belt and chucked them into the mass of people. The explosions echoed throughout the Valley. Blood seeped out of their wounds staining the rocks red.

The rest of the Village army stood at the entrance of the Village waiting for the army to get to the bottom of the cliff, once they reached there, the Village soldiers would charge and meet them head on in the fields. They watched as Nausicaä and Nazo bombard the opposing army with Nazo's invention.

Nausicaä winced as the explosion rang from the grenade she threw. Nazo had been very strict when he had talked to her last night.

"_I realize you don't like killing, but there is a time and a place for everything. This Valley NEEDS you and you need to protect it. They have declared war on the Valley, and we have to do what we can do make sure that the least amount of people are hurt, so please, while it goes against your principles, use these grenades to protect everyone."_

"Nausicaä, get ready!"

Nazo's shout brought Nausicaä back to her senses and she looked at Nazo, who was pointing upward. She looked up and gasped. It seemed the final Gunship for the Dorok had broken away from Asbel and was heading towards them. They had apparently seen the damage the two were doing and were coming to take them out.

"You take the left I take the right!" yelled Nazo as he grabbed his flare gun and loaded an explosive round into the chamber. Nausicaä did the same. The gunship started firing at them.

Nazo banked to the side while Nausicaä did an Aileron roll to avoid the shower of bullets. Nazo accelerated and fired his flare gun point blank at the wing, which tore a gaping hole into it. The pilot started to lose control. Nausicaä aimed and fired as well, taking out the other wing. The gunship then had no control and crashed… into its own army that was attempting the scale down the cliff. The resulting explosion was immense. The people on the top of the cliff started to back away, then started to break rank and retreat in chaos. The people on the bottom however, did not know of the situation above and charged blindly across the field towards the Village. The gunship swooped down and shot a few of them up. Nazo threw two more grenades while Nausicaä went lower and shot 2 more explosive rounds into the crowd.

By the time the two forces finally clashed, the Doroks had less than 50 people, while the Village had more than 100. Both Nazo and Nausicaä landed and charged into the fighting was well. Nazo rammed a guy to the ground and slashed across his armor, leaving a menacing gash, blood started to seep out as the solider fainted. Nazo turned and ran at other guy. Nauiscaa was fast on the battle field, with her Ohmu blade, she stabbed and sliced through multiple soldiers. She even saved Nazo a couple of times when he was struggling.

After only 10 Doroks were left, they started to surrender. The final fighter was the general himself. He had stayed back when his men had charged, but when he saw them giving up he started to run away himself. Nazo caught up to him on his glider and faced off against him. The man drew his ceramic sword and slashed fruitlessly at Nazo. Nazo drew Shattered Dream, and rendered the sword in two, and captured the general. The entire battle had taken around 2 hours. The casualties of the Dorok army 352 out of 500, while for the Valley there were 5 injured. The Valley had won. Slowly, the adrenaline rush wore down. the villagers started to drag the dead bodies away from the fields, to make sure that no spores infected their crops.

"So what happens now?" asked as he walked towards Nausicaä and Asbel. "Are they going to send another round to fight us?"

Nausicaä shook her head while smiling, "Fortunately not, this was their main force. The Dorok tribes are small, so there is only so many people they can send to war."

Nazo scratched the back of his head, "An entire war that took only 2 or so hours? Huh... oh well, what about the people that retreated?"

Asbel laughed, "Those survivors will probably go back and tell the tribes that the attack was a failure."

Nazo frowned, "So what happens in the aftermath? Do more ambassadors come and we hash out an agreement? While the Valley suffered a small amount of casualties, we still won, and as the saying goes, 'to the winner, the spoils.'"

Nausicaä nodded, "They will need to make reparations for their transgressions, it is an inevitability. The Valley does not want more land, so we will probably take weapons, materials, engines, and money."

Nazo nodded, "I see, so we just release the war prisoners and let them go home?"

Nazo pointed at the 10 or so people sitting on the ground tied up. The General was sputtering and frantically trying to undo the knots, but it was to no avail.

Nausicaä nodded, "I believe that would be for the best. Mito and the others will handle it. You should take a rest Nazo." Nazo shook his head.

"I feel fine, plus those windmills are not going to rebuild themselves. We need to start on them sometime." With that said, Nazo started walking towards the Village. Nausicaä smiled, then went to talk to Mito.

A week passed by, as the Villagers worked on rebuilding the windmills. By the week's end, one windmill had been rebuilt. The next morning, Nazo opened his his eyes and got ready for the day.

As he walked to the kitchen, he encountered Nausicaä on the way.

"Good morning," Nazo greeted as he fell into step next to her. Nausicaä smiled and waved as a form of greeting.

"Today we return the prisoners, right?" asked Nazo as the entered the kitchen.

Nausicaä nodded, "We are going to put them in the barge along with some of our men, and fly them back to their lands. Then we are going to take our spoils of war and come back home."

Nazo shrugged, "It just seems kinda… inefficient, aren't you afraid they will attack you while you are there?"

Nausicaä shook her head. "It goes against treaty of rules and regulations. This has been agreed upon by all the nations of the world. There is no way they would try and pull a stunt like that."

Nazo shrugged, "If you say so."

Nausicaä cocked her head, "Do you want to come along? It may be a long trip, but you get to see more of this world except the wastelands, Valley, and poison forest."

Nazo put his hand to his chin and thought, before responding, "Sure, I should see more of this world anyway."

Over breakfast, Nausicaä discussed with Nazo what to pack, what to expect on the flight and what to expect when they finally got to the Dorok lands. After eating and cleaning, Nazo went to pack an extra set of clothes. After he finished packing a satchel with his needed items, Teto jumped on his shoulder, and he set off to the hanger. There he found Nausicaä, some of the soldiers, and the war prisoners.

Nausicaä waved, "Make sure you pack your glider." Nazo raised an eyebrow.

Nausicaä continued, "We might need to go scouting, and gliding is perfect for that. Since I am going to be flying the gunship for a majority of the time, it will all depend on you."

Nazo nodded and packed in his own red glider, Gale.

"We are ready to go Nausicca!" called Nazo as he jumped inside the barge.

"Alright! Take off!" said Nausicaä as she accelerated. Soon the gunship, and the barge were in the air, heading off to Dorok lands.

* * *

Well there is chapter 5. Unfortunately, this is the last one in my previous backlogged chapters. Therefore I don't know when the next chapter is coming out, but I am still planning for weekly releases.

If any of you are wondering about why the Doroks demaned Nausicaä's hand in marriage, let me explain it now.

Throughout the entire manga, every single civilization wants Nausicaä. The Doroks, the wormhandlers, etc. I was making more or less of a joke, when I put that in there.

For those who would think that Nausicaä would not use Nazo's invention, you would probably be right. Throughout the entire manga she does not harm a single person, except for the beginning, where she kills a guy and stabs Lord Yupa on accident. That is why i justified my writing by making Nazo talk to her.

As always, If you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.

Thanks for reading this, please review.


	6. Torumekia's Princess

I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

It had been hours after takeoff. Nausicaä and Asbel were piloting while Nazo, Mito, some Villagers, and the prisoners were in the barge.

Nazo was currently in an intriguing conversation with Mito.

"It is truly interesting though, while the toxic forest is purifying the earth, it spews toxins into the air… where does it all go?"

Mito shrugged, "I couldn't say, I have not traveled into those cursed woods too much, and now with this 'stoning' disease, I am not going near it again."

Nazo smiled, "I don't blame you, only if there was a cure…"

Mito shoved him lightly, "Your mother was a doctor right? You could whip something up right?"

Nazo shook his head, "Sorry, I would love to do that, but I have no idea where to begin in that process. I guess I can find the plant that causes it, but then what? If I had a book or something, then maybe I could do something, but that is quite doubtful."

Mito sighed, "Well can't expect too much, what you have done with the gunship is amazing, we are flying faster than we ever have before thanks to you."

Nazo smiled, "I do what I can."

"Nazo! Could you take a look outside?"

Nausicaä's voice from the communication device cut through the two's conversation.

Nazo took up the receiver, "Got it Nausicaä, heading out now." With that, Nazo opened the barge door, angled his glider and pushed out into the open air. After freefalling for a few seconds his glider finally fired the rear engine and he was off, flying towards the gunship. He came parallel with it and looked at Asbel, who motioned to check ahead to see if they were nearing the Dorok lands, Nazo nodded and jettisoned off.

A mile ahead of the gunship Nazo glided on the currents looking around. He had been given a through explanation of what to be looking for to identify Dorok lands. The types of buildings, what the people's clothes looks like, and … flying pots. Nazo had no idea why they told him about the last item. They told him about how the Doroks had flying pots, and they used that to travel. When Nazo had questioned how the pot stayed in flight, like the engines that were used, they said that no engine used.

"_no engine?" said Nazo as he raised an eyebrow, "So is it a hot air balloon or something?"_

_Nausicaä shook her head, "Nazo, it is just a pot that floats in the air, and it can move."_

_Nazo rolled his eyes, "Only explanation for this is magic."_

Nazo shook his head to get rid of rambling ideas. _"Seriously though, a floating pot?"_ Nazo thought as he accelerated forward. _"There is no way that could exist in this day and age."_ Then he spotted something far to his right. Nazo glided toward it. It was a …..pot. It had pointed spikes on the bottom, and the opening on top had a lip around it. Two people were standing in it. Nazo flew back towards the gunship. As he came parallel to Nausicaä he signaled that something was ahead. Nausicaä nodded and they few in that direction. When both Asbel and Nausicaä saw the pot, they hung up the communication flags. It said "We come to return your war prisoners, is your tribal ground far from here?" The two people in the pot deciphered the message and flew a return answer, "We thank you for your kindness, follow us to the tribal ground." Nausicaä flew after the pot while Nazo took the rear, behind the barge. He would have landed and gone back into the barge, but he was not as skilled as Nauscaa, and would not try such a maneuver until he was confident.

A few minutes later, the pot and the gunship landed. Nazo landed near the gunship and folded up his glider. After he stored it back in the barge, he approached Nausicaä and Asbel who were greeting the Chief priest.

"I am Nausicaä, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, and this is Asbel, Prince of Pejitei." The chief nodded and then motioned towards Nazo, asking who he was.

Nazo extended his hand in greeting, "The name is Nazo, nice to meet you." The Chief shook his hand, then decided to speak.

"I suggest we do not beat around the bush. I thank you for returning our warriors that were left behind in our retreat. We have lost this war, what are your demands for repairs? Nausicaä took out a sheet of paper and handed it to him. The priest's eyes scurried over the paper, his frown increasing with each line.

"I guess we have no choice," the Priest sighed, He called over one of his aides, and told them to collect whatever was on the list and bring it here. After a half hour, the collection was done. There was a pile In front of Nausicaä. There was a count of 15 Tiara river stones, 3 engines, some silks, and 3 ohmu pieces of gear, a sword, knife, and shield. Nazo gathered up the items and placed them in the barge. He then led the prisoners to the chief and untied their binds. The former-prisoners rushed into the arms of their family, there were many people crying in joy that their loved ones were not killed in battle. Nausicaä nudged Nazo and pointed at the scene.

"See, this is why I like the non-violent route. People are happier." Nazo looked on towards the reunited families and smiled.

"Yeah," Nazo said after a while, "I can see what you mean."

Nausicca bid the chief farewell and the group was back on its way. Nausicaä and Asbel jumped into the gunship while the rest of the group got into the barge. The gunship took off.

After a while, Nazo talked through the plane communicator. "15 river stones? Doesn't that seem a bit excessive, don't you think?"

Nausicaä responded, "It is almost time for collection for Torumekia, we are allowed autonomy under its reign, but we need to help them in war, also all states under their rule need to give and "offering" as well, every two years.

Nazo frowned, "Autonomy under rule? That is ironic… So how much does that Valley usually pay for its freedom?"

Nausicaä responded, "Hmm, usually we give them a portion of our harvest, but since last year was poisoned and burned, we are using another method of pay, Tiara river stones, that is why we demanded so much from the Dorok people."

Nazo thanked Nausicaä for the explanation, then leaned back and closed his eyes. It was going to be a long ride back, might as well make the most of it.

"Nazo"

Nazo cracked open an eye when Mito called his name.

"Hmm?"

Mito looked a bit apprehensive to ask, so Nazo sighed, "Mito, ask away."

Mito nodded, "I wanted to ask you something about you."

Nazo raised an eyebrow and motioned for Mito to continue. Mito took a deep breath then said, "I was wondering about your breathing."

Nazo frowned, "Breathing?"

Mito nodded, "How does it feel? Are your lungs in any pain? Do you feel as you did in the past?"

Nazo shrugged, "I feel fine, why the odd question?"

Mito sighed, "What we were talking about before, where the poison goes after it is released into the air. We have lived with the poison forest for a long time now, so our bodies would have evolved to a point of resistance, not totally resistant but to a point here we can withstand a good amount of it. You however, have not had as much time as us to adapt, so I am worried that you might be at risk."

Nazo frowned, Mito was right, while he did feel fine, he did not know if this new poison infested world was negatively affecting his body.

"I will look into it once we return," said Nazo as he closed his eyes once more.

* * *

The group exited the barge and the men waved goodbye to Nausicaä, Asbel and Nazo. Both Nausicaä and Asbel were stretching due to being cramped in the pilot's seat the entire ride.

"Nausicaä, is there a doctor in the Village?"

Nausicaä looked at Nazo with a worried face. "Are you ill Nazo?"

Nazo shook his head, "No, but I was talking with Mito and…"

Nazo went on to explain Mito's worries, Nausicaä and Asbel listened intently nodding their heads to the several points that were presented.

When Nazo finished, Nausicaä sighed, "So that is why you were worried. Well, we do have a doctor, but he is away right now in Pejitei, checking on Asbel's people."

Nazo shrugged, "Can't be helped, I have been living here for months now, so I don't think there is any real danger. I will just wait until he returns."

Nauscaa shook her head, "I want to know if anything is wrong with you as soon as possible."

Nazo raised an eyebrow, "You're not suggesting we fly out there, are you?'

Nausicaä laughed, "No, I can do the examination myself, I have been given medical training, I even researched the 'Stoning' disease for a time, come to my room after dinner and I can give you a check-up."

Nazo nodded, "Sounds good to me. If this check is done earlier, the better."

Asbel, however, was not "ok" with that idea.

"Whoa! Whoa! In your room?" Asbel stuttered out, clearly flustered, "Isn't that inappropriate?"

Nausicaä cocked her head to the side, "No, I have the right tools in there for it, so it would be the easiest to do it in my room."

Asbel crossed his arms in an 'X' fashion and shoot his head violently, "No! I forbid that from happening."

Nazo rolled his eyes, "Come on Asbel, your being unreasonable. If it means that much to you, we can move to a different room, but it will be inefficient."

Asbel was adamant in his opinion though, and after dinner. Nausicaä and Nazo found themselves with multiple pieces of medical equipment in one of the guest rooms. Asbel stood satisfied in the doorway. Nazo rolled his eyes, "I expect your happy with yourself?"

Asbel smirked at him, "I am, now you two behave," with that Asbel left.

"Behave? He does know this is a medical test right?" asked Nausicaä as she laid out some to of the medical equipment.

Nazo shrugged, "Let him do what he wants, no harm done."

With that, the medical test began. Nausicaä preformed many of the basic tests; using tongue depressors, stethoscope, flashlight, and even a reflex hammer to test reactions. After 30 minutes she completed the examination.

"So, am I healthy?" asked Nazo as he pulled on his gloves.

Nausicaä nodded, "From what I can tell, the environment has had no effect on you. You seem perfectly fine."

Nazo breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, hate to cause trouble down the road for not being able to deal with the toxins in the air."

Nausicaä nodded and proceeded to put the medical materials away.

Nazo helped her, and when they finished, the both stood up and exited the room. Nazo waved goodnight to Nausicaä and proceeded to his room. He went in, changed his clothes and laid down in bed.

* * *

In the morning, Nazo got up and stretched. He smiled and started to get on his clothes. It was a nice feeling to be able to get up in the morning without the thought of war. The village was allowed to sleep in for the upcoming week. After the war was won, Nausicaä had made a declaration that the villagers could relax for a while, hence the waking up late.

After he put on his gloves and goggles, Teto jumped on his shoulder as usually and headed to breakfast. He found Nausicaä, Mito, Asbel, and Obaba already inside the kitchen.

"Good morning!" greeted Nausicaä as soon as she saw him enter. The others bid him a similar greeting to which Nazo responded in kind.

As soon as the food was all gone, a discussion began. Nazo put down his fork, "So today we are just fixing more windmills right?"

Mito nodded, "Yes, we need to get the windmills repaired as soon as possible. The grain is ground thanks to the wind, so we need to repair it quickly."

Nazo nodded, and got up to wash his dishes, taking Obaba's and Mito's as well. He cleaned and dried them and placed them away.

"Well I'm off," said Nazo as he walked towards the door, only to hear a trumpet sound in the distance. Nazo ran outside followed closely by Nausicaä, Asbel, and Mito. They looked towards the cliffs where the sound had come from only to spot a rather large envoy coming slowly down the cliff side.

"Anyone know what that is?" asked Nazo as he reached for his blade. Nausicaä stopped him.

"That is the royal envoy of Torumekia, it is only used when someone of royalty is going somewhere. Torumekia is very fond of its royalty and would rather not have them killed. It seems they have come to collect this year's payment."

Nausicaä put her hand to her chin in confusion. "They have never done this before though… wonder what is different this time around?"

Nazo frowned. "So who are the royalties of Torumekia? And which one of those is the highest chance to be in that envoy?"

Mito cleared his throat, "The only people who travel out are the King, his three sons, the princes, and Princess Kushana. The king's multiple wives do not travel."

Nazo rolled his eyes, "And I though polygamy was a thing of the past… So who do you think is in there?"

Nausicaä shook her head, "I don't know, it probably won't be the king, but it could be either of the princes or the princess. We will have to see when they get here."

Nazo nodded and the group started to head towards the entrance of the village. In twenty minutes time, the envoy was at the entrance. A man came forward and opened the scroll.

He said, "All bow down to show respect to the royalty of Torumekia!"

The citizens did so. Everyone was anxious.

"Will Princess Nausicaä please step forward?" asked the man.

Nausicaä raised an eyebrow and stepped forward. The envoy final split and revealed the royal member. Princess Kushana stepped forward and offered a handshake to Nausicaä, which she accepted.

"It is nice to see you again Princess," greeted Nausicaä, "To what do we owe this unexpected visit?"

Kushana smiled, "it is nice to see you as well Nausciaa, I came for the yearly collection, but first, how have you been?"

Nausicaä smiled back and began to tell of the events that recently unfolded.

Nazo watched the scene.

"_From what I can remember, Nauscaa told me that she met Kushana a year ago, during the Torumekian invasion. She was cruel at first, but she was really kind underneath."_

Nazo looked up from his ramblings to see both princesses smiling at each other and talking, Nausicaä with an enthusiastic expression, and Kushana with more of a calm smile. _"they seem to be on good terms.."_

After Nausicaä finished her story, Kushana asked, "So you helped a boy who claimed to be from the past, and he helped you in the most recent war, interesting, may I see this boy for myself?"

Nausicaä nodded, "Nazo! Could you come up here?" Nazo walked up slowly and stopped next to Nausicaä, facing Kushana. Nazo bowed.

"It is an honor to meet you princess, my name is Nazo."

"So you are the engineer that guaranteed the victory in the last war for the Valley of the Wind?" asked Kushana as she placed her hands on her hips.

Nazo shook his head, "I certainly helped and participated in the war, but I alone was not the only factor. The entire village has credit for driving back the invasion, from the actual fighters to the men and women in the back that provided weapons and food."

Kushana examined him, then started to laugh, "Your right, Nausicaä, this person is interesting."

Kurashana turned to Nausicaä, "I'll make you a deal, give us Nazo and you can consider this year's payment paid in full."

Nausicaä giggled and shook her head. "That is going too far, even for a joke Kushana."

Kushana smiled, "I was actually quite serious, but I figured you would respond like that anyway." Kushana turned to Nazo, "but if it is not too much trouble, I would like for you to visit our nation."

Nazo raised an eyebrow and frowned, "I mean no disrespect, but why would you want me to visit your homeland?"

Kushana smiled, "Multiple reasons: First and foremost, to make my brothers jealous that I have something that they don't, A second one is for your to explore the world. From what Nausicaä has told me, you have only seen the Valley and some of the Dorok lands. You have yet to see Torumekia. Finally, I would ask you to pass on your knowledge to our own engineers, so that we might improve our own equipment."

Nazo scratched the back of his head. He had no idea how to respond to this. Sensing his hesitation, Kushana spoke, "Of course, you may refuse to pass on your knowledge, as they say, 'knowledge is power,' it would be completely up to you."

Nausicaä cut in, "Nazo? Why don't you go? I can come with you if you want. It will definitely help you see and understand the world much more than you know right now."

Nazo slowly nodded, "I see… ok then… I will visit your nation."

Kushana smiled, "Excellent, I know this is sudden but please prepare to depart immediately, we will depart as soon as both of you are ready, fly your gliders out to our ship and we will depart."

Nausicaä and Nazo nodded, and departed from the group back to the castle. After packing multiple items, Nazo and Nausicaä went to the hanger to retrieve their gliders. Teto ran in and jumped onto Nausicaä shoulder. Nazo averted his gaze when Nausicaä let Teto inside her shirt.

"Next time, warn me when you do that," said Nazo as they both got ready to take off.

"Do what?" asked Nausicaä.

Nazo signed and muttered, "you know what? Never mind," as he propelled his glider into the air. Nausicaä looked after him curiously, then shrugged as she herself activated Mehive and pushed off into the air currents.

* * *

Sorry for the wait but I finally got around to writing this chapter. I was held back from writing because of school, but I am happy I at least got this chapter done. I wanted to release it as soon as possible since I am behind schedule. So if you see any spelling errors go ahead and inform me via a Pm or a review (but please review as well).

As always If you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.

I will make a couple of comments. The idea of Nazo considering the Dorok pots as "magic" was a joke that my friend told me. With no fuel sources or anything else, The fans have little idea of how these machines run, specifically the gliders and the pots. My friend said, "You don't need to know, just call it magic and you will be fine." thus the joke.

I will be honest, Kushana is going to be a hard character for me to write. I know her personality, but I might not always be accurate. Any comments on her will be helpful. As you noticed I have added some background of Kushana from the manga to her anime counterpart.

I would like to thank Penlock for being the first reviewer of this story. Honestly I was feeling kinda down that nobody was reviewing it, so thanks Penlock for helping me push on.


	7. Onward to Torumekian Lands

I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

Nazo and Nausicaä glided over the hill to the ships waiting for them.

"So why isn't Asbel coming with us?" asked Nazo as he flew next to Nausicaä, "I thought he would want to come along as well."

Nausicaä shook her head. "Right now Pejitei is on really bad terms with Torumekia. It would not bode well for anyone if the Prince of Pejitei decided to make an impromptu trip to Torumekia."

Nazo nodded. The two touched down near the ship and folded their gliders. Kushana approached the two of them. "Our trip will take at least a day to make it all the way there. This is your last chance to back out now."

Nazo shook his head, "It would be rude to come all the way here to just reject your offer. We are ready to move out."

Nausicaä nodded in agreement, "Yes let's…. Oh! Before I forget." Nausicaä reached behind her and grabbed a bag and handed it to Kushana. "Tiara River Stones, for this year's payment." Kushana nodded and fastened them to her belt.

"Let's go," said Kushana as she turned and headed towards the ship. Nazo and Nausicaä picked up their gliders and followed. After everyone had boarded, the large plane took off. Some soldiers took their gliders to the cargo bay. The sounds of the engines were a constant hum in the background as Nausicaä and Nazo were shown to a room. The room was surprisingly large, there were no furnishings like chairs or beds, just a lot of wide open space. There were windows on either side. Nazo sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall.

"What to do for 14 hours?" muttered Nazo as he looked blankly forward. There was a small "yip" and Teto burst from Nausicaä's shirt and ran over to Nazo. Nazo chuckled, "Hmm? Do you have an idea to help pass the time?"

The fox-squirrel yipped again and proceeded to climb onto Nazo's lap and curl up as if to sleep. Nazo laughed, "You want me to pet you for 14 hours? You are one pampered pet." Nevertheless, Nazo reached out a hand and started to stroke the fur of Teto, who purred in response.

Luckly, Nausicaä was much better equipped to pass the time than Nazo. She brought out a deck of cards to play with. "Care for a game of Qwalolzap?" she asked as she held up the cards.

Nazo raised an eyebrow, "what?"

Nausicaä waved the deck back and forth, "Come on Nazo, Qwalozap? You have to have lived under a rock for 1000 years not to know how to play this." Nazo coughed once. Nausicaä blushed, "oh yeah…"

So Nausicaä taught him how to play Qwalozap, Nazo was initially surprised that the deck contained a total of 56 cards rather than the standard 52. It seemed that this deck was based off the minor arcana of a tarot deck, and named the jack cards "Knights" as well as included the "page" card, which was higher than ten, but lower than knight. The game itself was not too complicated, and Nazo had fun learning it. After around 20 rounds of it, Nausicaä brought up another new card game for them to play. It continued like this for a few hours until they had played all the card games Nausicaä knew of.

Then Nazo started to teach Nausicaä card games from his time. Hearts, War, Crazy eights, Go fish, Palace, Speed, Golf, old maid, Kings in the corners, Egyptian rat slap/ race/screw, Blitz, BS, and many more. Nausicaä was intrigued by the multitude of games that Nazo knew, even the soldiers of the ship, the ones not on duty, sat by and started to learn a few of the games that Nazo was explaining. Eventually the soldiers started to bring out their own decks and made areas where each group played a different game, whether it was one Nazo had presented or one that was a classic such as Qwalozap.

If someone got tired of the game they were playing, they could simply stand up and walk away to another group and join in. Princess Kushana came back to yell at her crew members, but eventually joined in on the many card games that were being played. The fun lasted into the night, where eventually Kushana strictly ordered all of them to rest for tomorrow. The soldiers did as they were told, until it was only Nazo and Nausicaä left.

It seemed a smile would not leave Nausicaä's face as she watched Nazo quietly pet Teto. The fox-squirrel had stayed with Nazo the entire time. Either on his lap as Nazo played, or on his shoulder when Nazo decided to move about to another group. Now Teto was sleeping peacefully on Nazo's lap as he gently stroked his fur. A soldier walked in and presented the group with two blankets, and bid them goodnight before walking out.

Nazo continued to stroke Teto but looked up at Nausicaä and said, "Today was a blast, I didn't know I could have so much fun with just one deck of cards.

Nausicaä chuckled, "Tell me about it! Everyone got really into it! Including the Princess. Did you see how intense her face got when she was in a difficult game?"

Nazo and Nausicaä shared a collected laugh at the remembrance of the princess' face.

Nazo yawned, "Well time to get to bed… but I wonder if I will get any sleep..." At Nausicaä 's questioning look he responded by tapping the wooden floor. "The hard wood floor is not the nicest thing to sleep on, and I don't want Teto sleeping on the cold floor either." Nausicaä put a hand under her chin, and after a while spoke.

"Why don't we put down one blanket and then we both sleep on that, we can use the other blanket to cover us both."

Nazo gave a small smile, "Sure, that is fine with me."

Nausicaä stood up and spread one of the blankets down on the floor. Nazo slowly took Teto into his arms and walked over to the blanket and set Teto down. Then he went back for his bag and got his sleeping clothes.

"I am going to exit to change, call to me when you have finished changing," was all Nazo said as he exited the room. After a minute, Nazo was allowed back in and the two laid down on the blanket facing the ceiling. Teto was curled into a ball between them. The two sat in silence for a while listening to the dull roar of the engines.

Finally Nazo said, "Hey Nausicaä ."

"Hmm?"

"Thanks"

Nausicaä turned her head to look at Nazo, "For what?"

Nazo shut his eyes, "For everything, if you had not found me stranded in the desert that day, I have no idea what would have happened."

Nausicaä smiled, "Your welcome, though I should be thanking you, without you with the Valley, many more would have died in our most recent war."

Nazo laughed quietly, "That is just like you, to thank someone else even when they are thanking you. You really are something else. Well… Good night."

"Good night"

With that the two fell asleep.

* * *

Early in the morning, when everyone was still soundly asleep, Nausicaä was awoken with small paws hitting her face. She stirred and opened her eyes to reveal Teto looking adamantly at her.

"Teto? What is it?" asked Nausicaä softly, she did not want to wake Nazo. Teto hopped softly on Nazo and pointed a paw at his face. Nausicaä leaned over and gasped. In the moonlight she could clearly see that Nazo was crying, small trails of tears wet his face as he slept.

Nausicaä watched silently, "Nazo… you try so hard, to keep it all in… it must be hard for you." Nausicaä softly wiped the tears from his face and gently enveloped him in a hug, whispering words of comfort all the while. After a few minutes, the tears stopped, and Nazo gained a smile on his face. Nausicaä softly laid him down again.

"Teto, does this happen often?" asked Nausicaä after she finished pulling the blanket over Nazo. Teto let out sound signaling in the negative. Nausicaä let out a sigh of relief. "At least it is not painful for him every night." Nausicaä then laid down herself, and after pulling the blanket over her, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Nazo's eyes opened slowly. He sat up and looked around. Nausicaä was still asleep, and Teto was still curled in his ball. He reached up to wipe his tears away, he had the nightmare again, only to find his face clean of salty water. He frowned, either he had not cried like he had in the past, or they had been wiped away. Hopefully, Nausicaä had not seen, she would worry. Nazo got up and quietly exited the room and dressed himself in his usual attire. He then reentered and put his belongings away. He walked over to the window and looked outside. They were high up, so high up that the wasteland beneath look like one faded tan color. He breathed deeply then closed his eyes, remembering his constant nightmare.

_He was standing next to his mother and father, they were talking with him and he was smiling. They pointed behind him and he turned, expecting to see what they were pointing at. He saw nothing, he turned back only to find his parents gone. He started running trying to find his parents. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Nausicaä and Teto. Nausicaä had a smile on her face and she handed him a wooden sword. She then pointed behind him and he turned yet again. This time he was faced with multitude of items. Weapons, baskets, food, barrels, buckets, engines, and some things he had seen back at the valley. Nazo ran over to the pile and started to look at everything with excitement, he picked up an item and turned to ask Nausicaä about it, but she was gone, he turned back towards the items, and they were still there, but they looked foreign, odd, different. Nazo bent down, and clutched his knees to his chest and said in a shivering voice, "Where did you all go? Don't leave me behind…" _

And he would usually wake up after that, cold and shivering, with tears on his cheeks. Even though he put on a brave front, in reality, it was all hitting him way too fast. He felt like he just couldn't keep up. He felt like he was out of place, out of his time. But he couldn't just tell everyone to slow down. Nobody was going to wait for him to get his bearings. It would just be a process, learn to settle in without anyone knowing.

His thoughts drifted in particular to the nightmare last night, it had ended differently from before. When he had been sitting on the ground with his knees to his chest, a hand was placed on his shoulder. His head had whipped around and it was Nausicaä once again standing there. She had helped him up and started to explain everything he didn't know. The items were no longer unfamiliar, and Nazo smiled once again.

Nazo stopped his rambling thoughts when he heard Nausicaä sit up and yawn.

"Sleep well?" asked Nazo as he turned to face her. Nausicaä nodded while stretching.

"How about you?" asked Nausicaä as she gathered her clothes.

"I slept fine, the floor was a bit hard, but other than that no trouble," said Nazo as he walked to the door to let Nausicaä change.

After a minute or so he was allowed back in. Teto had now awoken and proceeded to jump on Nazo's shoulder as he came back in. Nausicaä and Nazo each took one blanket and folded them neatly, and stacked them in a corner. Nausicaä picked up her belongings and motioned for him to do the same. Nazo slipped on the satchel that he had with him, and he followed Nausicaä out the door heading towards the cockpit. When they arrived, they looked around. Multiple people were in seats in front of controls. Kushana sat in the commander's seat. She turned to greet the two.

"Good morning you two, we will arrive shortly."

Nazo spoke, "What is our course of action once we arrive."

Kushana put on a strained smile, "Since Princess Nausicaä has joined us, it is only right to introduce her to the Vai emperor, my father. I would rather not have my brothers meet her. They are known to be slobbering pigs if they see a pretty girl."

Nausicaä winced at Kushana's description, "Princess…they really aren't that bad… are they?"

Kushana smiled, "Don't worry Nausicaä , they won't do anything while I am there." Nausicaä laughed nervously.

The plane landed and the door was opened. Nazo and Nausicaä followed Kushana out.

"First I will guide you to your rooms that you will sleep in during your stay, then you will both meet the Vai Emperor," said Kushana as she walked towards the castle.

Nausicaä and Nazo were led and were shown two rooms. It seemed that they would sleep in rooms that were adjacent to each other. The rooms were extremely nice. They each had a large bed, a dresser, a large mirror, and even its own bathroom.

As soon as both occupants had put their bags into their rooms, Kushana led them to the throne room. Before she opened the door she turned to Nausicaä and Nazo.

"I suggest I do most of the talking, do not talk unless directly spoken to, I have seen some people sent to the dungeons for speaking out of line."

Nazo gulped while Nausicaä narrowed her eyes, "That is wrong, they have done nothing that should warrant punishment."

Kushana shrugged, "Things are run differently here Nausicaä." With that, Kushana opened the door.

Nazo walked forward into a large room. There was a red carpet that went from the doorway all the way to the throne on the other end of the room. There were countless marble pillars that lined either side of the carpet. At the other end of the room, four men were talking. They all looked up when they heard the door open. The four men looked similar, but it was obvious which one was the emperor. He wore purple robes and was seated in the throne. The three others were all overweight and wore robes of different colors, One red, one green, and one blue.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our dear sister Kushana! Have you already come back from your journey?" said a brother who wore green robes. Kushana scowled at this.

"Yes, dear brother, I have returned, and I have brought some guests, so I expect you to be on your best behavior."

The green robed brother scowled at this, but the red clad one defended him. "Kushana, your assignment was simple, collect the payment from the Valley and return, but it seems you forgot to do that and you brought guests along? You really are a worthless sister."

Nazo glanced to his side, sure enough, it looked like Nausicaä was desperately biting her tongue as to not say anything. Kushana just looked annoyed.

"Fransis, I assure you these two are more than your average guests," Kushana motioned Nausicaä to step forward. "This is Nausicaä, princess of the Valley of the Wind." Nausicaä stepped forward and bowed to the Emperor and his sons. The three sons all seemed to be captivated by her beauty, as seen by the smirks they go on their faces.

"And this, is Nazo Nōryoku," Kushana said as Nazo stepped forward and bowed. When Nazo looked up, he could tell that the three princes were far less impressed by his presence than they were with Nausicaä's.

The princes with blue robes snorted, "Why have you brought this peasant infront of us Kushana?" Nazo narrowed his eyes.

Kushana just laughed, "Is that your impression of him? He is a far more interesting boy that you would think."

The Vai Emperor slammed down his fist, demanding silence. He spoke

"Kushana, you have collected the payment, correct?"

Kushana nodded and reached behind her and brought out the bag full of Tiara river stones, walked up to the emperor and gave them to him.

The emperor spoke again, "I can understand why you have brought the princess to meet me, but why the boy? What significance does he hold?"

Kushana smiled, "To put it simply, Nazo is from the Ceramic era. He lived through the Seven Days of Fire."

The Emperor gasped, but the princes laughed, Francis spoke, "Will you go to no end to please our father? To go as far as to lie about this peasant and say he is from another time? You really are pathe-"

"Do you want me to prove it then?"

The prince stopped mid rant and turned to face Nazo who had cut him off. Nausicaä looked worried, "Nazo!"

"You insolent swine! You dare interrupt royalty!" Francis said.

Nazo shrugged, "I only asked if you wanted me to prove Princess Kushana's statement. You should really get all your fact straight before you jump to conclusions." Nazo then motioned Teto to get off his shoulder, which the Fox-Squirrel complied.

By this time, the prince's face was beet red in anger, in his rage, he drew his sword and ran at Nazo, who drew his own blade from its sheath. The prince swung downward and Nazo simply raised his blade. The look on the prince's face turned from rage to fear as his sword broke against Shattered Dream. Nazo simply shrugged and sheathed his blade, then he turned to the Vai Emperor.

"Your highness, if I may be so bold, I believe that this is enough proof that I am from the Ceramic Era, or at least not from this area."

The king could only nod in awe, still dumbstruck by what had taken place. Nazo turned to Kushana, who was smiling.

"Shall we go Princess? Nausicaä?" asked Nazo as he gestured toward the door.

Kushana nodded, "We shall," she turned toward the emperor, "Thank you for the audience father, we shall make our leave."

With that, the group walked out of the throne room, as soon as the doors closed, Kushana said, "Nausicaä told me about your weapon, but I didn't really believe it till now."

Nazo sighed, "Well, what now?" Kushana smiled, "Now for the grand tour."

Back inside the throne room, the emperor had retired to his bed chamber. The three princes were muttering among themselves.

"That insolent welp, he will regret the day he trod into our territory, we will make him wish he never existed."

* * *

Well there is chapter 7.

First things first, I wanted to bring up the scene where Nausicaä comforts Nazo. For anyone who had read the manga, I am sure you realize by now that Nausicaä would have done this for anyone, if she knew them or not. She sucks out poisoned blood from a guy's mouth to stabilize him, I think she will give a few hugs.

For Nazo's nightmare, I wanted to show that he is not perfect. As mentioned by a reviewer, It seems that Nazo is taking all of this in stride, which is odd for someone his age to be able to manage. As for overcoming this difficulty, only time will tell.

For the cards games, Qwalozap does not exist, and if it does, I have never heard of it. It is the product of me just skimming my fingers over the keyboard and making something that looked like a name. For all the other card games (the ones that Nazo introduced) All of those are real.

On a side note, I was considering doing a Persona reference, but I thought against it, the closest I got to mentioning it was "tarot deck."

As for the plan of the three princes, well I can hardly say, but I have a thought that a competition might be involved. Either way, the next chapter, things are going to go down.

As always, if you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.


	8. Competition for Teto

I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but this story is of my own creation, please do not copy or replicate this piece of work.

Nazo cracked open his eyes. He drowsily looked around.

"_Oh yeah, we are in Tokumekai..." _Nazo thought as he got up. As Nazo got ready for the day, his mind wandered to yesterday's events.

After the three had met the emperor and the princes, Kushana took them on a tour of the entire city. Unlike the Valley, were everything was in walking distance; the three took the royal carriage to look at all the shops, factories, and houses with in the city. Tokumekai was a massive technological city, with industrial plants scattered throughout. Everything conceivable was being produced. From items used in war to items for the common household, there seemed to be a factory producing it.

They had taken a stop in the glider/airplane factory. Nazo and Nausicaä were shown around, Different fins, wings, control belts, and engines were all sorted neatly on multiple shelves. Nazo couldn't help but feel energetic while he looked around. With the sight of so many machines, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic. He had been introduced to the head of the plant, and after showing off some of his skills, he was all but begged to work there. Nazo obviously declined but did agree to come back tomorrow. At the end of the tour the three headed back to the castle, and after an impressive meal, the three retired to bed.

Nazo walked out of his bathroom. He dressed himself and stretched. It seems he had gotten up earlier than what was acceptable at Tokumekia, so he decided to rest in his bed a while longer. As he closed his eyes to rest he heard rapid footsteps running down the hallway. They ran past his door and stopped at Nausicaä's. There was a rapid knocking at her door. Nazo frowned, and got up to see what the commotion was about. He opened his door the same time Nausicaä opened hers. It seemed that some imperial guards were waiting outside. As soon as the door had been opened they rushed in and grabbed Teto, who hissed and shrieked in a rage. Nazo stepped forward and grabbed Teto from the guards.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he placed Teto on his shoulder.

The guards replied, "We have orders from the Vai Emperor to take that animal to him.

Nausicaä frowned, "why?'

"It seems one of the princes were bitten by this feral animal, and the Emperor wants it exterminated immediately."

Nazo scowled, "When was the prince bitten? We have not let Teto out of our sights."

The guards seemed increasingly irritated by the resistance from both Nausicaä and Nazo.

"You shall give us the animal now!" One of the guards reached for Teto but Nazo stepped back and batted away his arm.

"I will speak to the Emperor himself." Nazo said as he turned around, "Lead the way."

The guard did as he was told. Nazo and Nausicaä followed closely behind, until they got to the throne room. They were both ushered inside, only to face the entire royal family, that is to say the Vai Emperor, all three princes, and princess Kushana.

The Emperor smiled, "Ah! It seems the boy understands better than you thought Kushana, he has willingly brought the animal to us."

The prince in the blue robes spoke, "It doesn't matter father, we should just kill the stupid animal.

The Emperor reprimanded him, "Calm down Bartholomew, it will be killed."

Nazo frowned, "Pardon my intrusion, but I would like to talk to you about just that. Which of the princes was bitten?"

The red robbed prince stepped forward, and held up his right hand.

"I was bitten by that stupid fox-squirrel; I demand it be put to death."

Nazo frowned, the princes were up to something, but why target Teto instead of him? It made no sense.

The Vai Emperor spoke, "As you can see Nazo, my son, Richard, was bitten by that animal, and it must be put to death, for it is dangerous."

Nazo scowled, "Then let me see the injury, Prince Richard."

Richard huffed, "I would think not, the pain is tolerable right now, if the wound is exposed to the open air, it would itch."

Nazo's scowl deepened. There was not much to do on the matter. He could not threaten the prince to show him his hand, since the emperor was there, but he couldn't let Teto be killed either.

The Vai Emperor spoke, "If there are no more questions that I will be taking that animal and put it to death."

All the princes smirked, an action not unseen by Nausicaä and Nazo. Then Francis spoke.

"Wait, I just had an idea!"

Everyone turned to face him. Francis continued to speak, "It is obvious that our guests care for this animal. Why don't we have a friendly wager?"

Nazo narrowed his eyes, "And what do you have in mind?"

The green clad prince took a sheet out from his robes, walked down, and handed it to Nazo.

Francis pointed at Nazo, "You will take part in the annual sword wielding competition held later today. If you win, we will spare the animal, if you lose… the animal is killed, what do you say?"

Nazo ground his teeth. _"So this is what they were after, an offer that I cannot refuse."_

Nazo looked down at the sheet the prince had given him. Sure enough, it was about a sword wielding competition. The prizes themselves were generous; a set of Ohmu gear, (knife, sword, shield, and armor), 10 Tiara river stones, as well as a glider. The flyer also recommended everyone of all ages to participate. There was even a special rule that allowed minors to team up with a partner.

Nazo sighed, "Fine, I will accept your wager. Teto will stay under our care for the duration of the tournament, we will only hand him over if we do not win. "

Francis grinned, "Excellent, I will have the preparations prepared immediately for a solo contestant to be-"

"Hold on a second," cut in Nazo, "It says here that minors can team up with a partner."

Francis frowned, "Well… yes, as long as your partner is a minor you can enter together."

Nazo turned to Nausicaä, "What do you say Nausicaä, want to team up?" Nausicaä smiled, "Sure, sounds like fun."

Nazo got an unhealthy sense of satisfaction as he watched all the princes' faces turn to horror.

Nazo cleared his throat, "Thank you once again Francis for your wonderful offer, I will see you later." With that, Kushana, Nausicaä, and Nazo, with Teto, exited the throne room. As soon as they were outside, Nazo grit his teeth.

"Seems your brothers like to play dirty."

Kushana shrugged, "It practically runs in the family, those three buffoons will do anything they can to get their way."

Nausicaä patted Nazo on the back, "Cheer up, as long as we win this, everything will be fine."

Nazo sighed, "I guess, though we will be depending more on you than me."

Nausicaä smiled at that, "Your training has progressed well, you should hold your own pretty well."

Nazo smiled, "Thanks." Then a thought seemed to strike him as he put his hand to his chin.

"Hey Kushana,"

"Hmm?"

"Your brother's names and their choice of clothes, they're… similar."

Nausicaä cocked her head to the side, "How so?"

Nazo continued, "Well, their names match the color they wear, [Richard= R= Red] [Bartholomew=B=Blue]. The only one that doesn't match is Francis [Francis=F= Green?]"

Kushana smirked at that one. "He claimed the color he wears is "Forest Green" so the name matches up. The real reason is probably he didn't want Fuchsia."

Nazo chuckled, "Interesting, anyway, let's eat something, today is going to be a long one."

After the trio had eaten they went out to where the tournament was being held. There were stands to allow people to watch, there was a large area in the center where people were set to fight in. After Nazo and Nausicaä handed Teto over to Kushana for safe keeping, they walked up to the registration booth. The man behind the counter took a look at them and said, "Nazo Nōryoku and Nausicaä from the Valley of the Wind?" They both nodded. "You are Seed 1, this way please."

They were ushered into a nearby shack that held a massive quantity of wooden swords. They were each handed one. They walked out and we directed to a stand that held the competitors. The people competing ranged from young boys to middle aged men. One thing that they all had in common though was that they were all royalty. Nazo raised an eyebrow at that. The flyer they had received encouraged everyone to participate, from commoners to royalty. He pushed it to the back of his head for now.

After all participants had arrived, the trumpet sounded for the games to begin. The announcer called forth the first opponents. "Will Seeds 1 and 16 please come down." Nazo and Nausicaä walked down to the stage, while two other boys walked down as well.

The commentator started talking about the rules, which were pretty simple.

1: If you are hit three times, you are disqualified (The ref will count the hits on the provided hit counter).

2: if you are knocked out of the ring, you are disqualified

3: If you are disarmed and your sword is thrown out of the ring, you are disqualified, if the sword falls within the ring, it is still useable.

4: If your sword is broken, you are disqualified

5: If your opponent surrenders, stop attacking immediately, and let them vacate the field.

6: As long as these rules are followed, anything goes.

Once the commentator finished, the fight began. Immediately the two boys rushed at the duo.

Nazo smirked and said, "Idiots," as he met one of the boys head on. They clashed their swords a few times until Nazo was able to hit his opponent once. His opponent started to back off a bit. Nazo glanced to see how Nausicaä was doing. As he had expected, Nausicaä was doing fine, her opponent seemed frustrated on how she easily dodged or parried all his strikes. Nausicaä swung and landed a hit on him, which caused the boy to growl in irritation. Nazo turned back only to find his opponent starting to charge at him. Nazo charged at him as well. The opponent swung his sword to the side, while Nazo went for a quick thrust, both attacks hit, but Nazo was knocked off his feet.

"_What the…"_ Nazo clambered to his feet as the boy smirked at him. The sword he had was modified somehow, like a weight was put inside to make it have more impact power. As Nazo eyed his opponent, he heard the commentator announce that the other boy is out. Nausicaä walked up beside him and said, "Is his sword different as well?"

Nazo nodded, "yeah, it has a weight or something in the middle, which makes it heavier." Nausicaä nodded and charged to meet the opponent head on, the boy swung from the left and Nausicaä ducked to avoid and touched his leg with her sword, ending the match.

"Seed One wins!" announced the commentator. Both Nazo and Nausicaä breathed a sigh of relief. The first match had not been too difficult, but the challenges would only get harder. After the first round finished, Seeds one and five were called up. Nazo and Nausicaä were against a rather large set man. The thing that really intimidated them was the metal sword he wielded.

Nazo scowled, "Thought you had to use wooden swords in this match." The man only shrugged.

"You can get anything if you pay the right price," replied the man as he eased into a fighting stance." Nazo grit his teeth. So that is why everyone was royalty, only they could pay the price to get better equipment and bribe the referees. The match started and the man started running towards them, they each dodged to the right.

"You got a plan?" asked Nazo as he kept him eyes on the man, "He is probably going to try to win by breaking our swords."

Nausicaä agreed, "I do have one plan, thought I don't know if it is legal."

Nazo snorted, "The sixth rule was anything goes, so go for it."

Nausicaä nodded and drew her ceramic blade from her sheath. The man was clearly disturbed by this. Nausicaä charged with both swords ready to strike, she parried his downward slash with her ceramic blade and with terrifying grace she slashed him twice with the wooden sword, before retreating. The man ran after her, trying to get a hit in, but Nazo came from behind and swiped him in the back for the match.

"Seed one wins!"

As Nausicaä and Nazo walked back to the stands Nazo was talking, "That was awesome! Where did you learn how to dual wield swords like that?"

Nausicaä laughed, "Master Yupa taught me, when I was young. Every now and then I practice."

Nazo chuckled, "well, when we get back, teach me." Nausicaä giggled and agreed.

The third round came around and Nausicaä and Nazo were faced against a thin man with a ceramic rapier.

Nazo growled, "Come on, this is getting ridiculous..."

The man charged forwards and did a series of thrusts. Nazo dodged to the left while Nausicaä parried them with her own ceramic blade. She swiped at him, only for him to dodge.

Nazo charged up behind him and slashed, but the man deftly avoided it and swiped at him, but Nazo ducked and retreated.

Nausicaä was in a defensive stance as Nazo retreated back to her.

"How much to do you know about rapiers?" asked Nazo as he held up his wooden blade in a defensive position.

Nausicaä sighed, "Not much, except they are thin and fast, what can you tell me?"

Nazo glared at the man but answered, "Rapiers were invented around the 1500's just around the time that guns were being invented as well. Civilians needed a fast, quick weapon that would allow them to deal damage before enemy soldiers could load and fire their guns. They were only used on the home front rather than the battle front, since the fighters not only would possess heavy armor that would make the rapier worthless, but nobody wanted to use such a sissy weapon."

Nausicaä raised an eyebrow, "I was hoping for something useful."

"I was getting to that," Nazo answered, "The weaknesses of the rapier is that the thin blade can be broken easily, leaving the combatant defenseless. I suggest we go for a blade break win this round, but be careful, it is also a common misconception that only the tip of the rapier is sharpened, a master rapier user uses a double edged rapier, capable of doing a high degree of damage. I'm counting on you Nausicaä."

Nausicaä nodded and charged at the man. He raised his sword and jabbed at Nausicaä who slid to the side and swung down with her ceramic blade, but the man predicted this and moved his sword out of the way. What he did not expect was for Nausicaä to use her wooden sword to hit him and cause him to stagger. The man stumbled back and fell down. Nazo did not let this moment pass. When Nausicaä had charged, he had followed, waiting for an opening, when the man had fallen, Nazo charged up and slashed twice at his chest, ending the match.

"Seed one wins!"

Nausicaä was breathing heavily when Nazo walked up to her. They shared a high-five.

Nausicaä chuckled, "I thought we were going for a blade break this round."

Nazo shrugged, "You put him off balance, I was not going to miss that chance. One more round and we can be done with this whole thing."

Nausicaä nodded and the two retreated to the stands. The other battle finished and there was going to be a ten minute break to allow the other combatants to rest a bit. As Nazo and Nausicaä chatted, the princes came forward and started talking to the judges and the final contestant. 10 minutes later Nazo and Nausicaä were on the ring face to face with Francis and Bartholomew. Each sported two ceramic swords.

Nazo sighed in frustration, "What are you two doing here? Pretty sure you guys weren't in the tournament."

Francis laughed, "We had a nice chat with the final combatant, and he graciously allowed us to fight the final round."

Nazo glanced to the side to see the final contestant holding a rather large bag. _"Guess you couldn't say no to a deal that good."_

Nausicaä scowled, "But why are there two of you, neither one of you are minors!" The commentator decided to speak up.

"Don't worry about that, they are brothers, essentially the same person, there are no problems with that."

Nausicaä's eyes narrowed at the small sack tied the belt of the commentator. _"So much for sportsmanship."_

The match began and the two princes charged. Unfortunately for them, dual wielding blades, ceramic ones at that, are difficult. So their charge was rather pathetic.

Nazo smirked, "This won't be too hard, let's end this Nausicaä!"

Nazo charged and slashed Francis on the back, "That's one!"

"I didn't see it."

Nazo froze and looked at the referee. "What?"

The referee responded in a blank, monotone voice, "I didn't see it, continue the match."

Nazo scowled and backed up, only to slash at Bartholomew as he was passing by, he glanced up at the "hit counter" to see the number had not been changed, Nazo paled as the situation dawned on him. He rushed over to Nausicaä.

"Things are not looking good," hissed Nazo as soon as he was within hearing range.

Nausicaä nodded, "They bribed the referee so our hits aren't counted… All we can do is knock them out of the ring, break their swords, or somehow make them surrender."

Nazo scowled, "Well if they are not playing fair, neither are we." Nazo reached back and grabbed Shattered Dream from its sheath.

Nausicaä raised an eyebrow, "Why didn't you start with that?"

Nazo sighed, "We didn't need it earlier. Now come on."

Nazo charged forward and raised his blade, Bartholomew went to block only to find that he had half a sword, Nazo dispatched his other sword, and ran towards Francis who had grown pale. The green clad prince swung helplessly at Nazo as Shattered Dream rendered his swords useless. Nazo turned and faced the referee.

"Are you going to call the match?"

The commentator stood there for a moment then said, "W… Winner, Seed One!"

The crowds cheered for the pair as they walked out of the ring, back to princess Kushana, Teto happily jumped back onto Nazo's shoulder.

Kushana smiled, "Nicely done you two, though the end was a bit more flashy than needed."

Nausicaä laughed, "Well we won, and that is all that matters."

Teto gave a happy yip in response.

After the awards ceremony, Nausicaä had a bag of river stones attached to her belt, and an ohmu blade strapped to her back. Nazo had an Ohmu knife attached to his and an ohmu chest plate, leggings, gauntlets, and boots, and helmet plus an Ohmu buckler.

"Wow Ohmu material is amazing, it is so light that I can move so easily," exclaimed Nazo as he moved around experimentally.

Nausicaä giggled, "I told you that this stuff is amazing, that is why it is the most sought after materials in this world."

Nazo nodded, and then turned to Kushana, "Nausicaä and I will be right back," to which Kushana nodded.

Nazo and Nausicaä had decided that the best course of action was to fly back and drop off their items back at the castle. Then they would head out again to the glider/ plane factory so Nazo could meet with the engineers once again.

Nazo laid down on the glider, while Nausicaä stepped on. With practiced efficiently, Nausicaä took off towards the castle.

"Hey Nazo."

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever think about your time, like that past?"

"What brought this on?"

"Nothing, just a random question is all."

"Hmm, well I sometimes think of my mom or dad, or the stuff they taught me, but they are usually passing thoughts, things that are sparked from my memories that relate to whatever is happening at the moment."

"I see… Do you ever feel lonely?"

"No, there are a lot of people who are my friends. Heck, you came all the way to Tokumekai with me, when I was feeling insecure about going, so I don't think I am lonely."

Teto yipped at that.

Nazo laughed, "And I also have Teto who is almost always with me, so I am never truly alone."

Nausicaä smiled, "I see, then why were you crying?"

Nazo flinched at those words. _"So that is why my cheeks were dry two days ago…"_

Nazo sighed, there was no point lying to her. "A recurring nightmare, I have it from time to time, it mostly me being left behind feeling clueless and alone. Sometimes I die in them. I suppose you saw me crying on the ship."

"Yeah… sorry"

Nazo sighed, "We will talk about his later."

The rest of the trip was silent. Once they got to the castle, they stored everything in the warehouse, then took off again to the factory.

When they arrived, Nazo and Nausicaä walked in and met with the chief engineer. The chief motioned Nazo over to an engine and started talking with him. Nausicaä sighed and sat back, Teto leaning on her shoulder.

Nausicaä watched as Nazo talked to the chief engineer, smiling all the while, it was obvious that Nazo liked it here, but it was a shame they could not stay for too long. Nausicaä would have loved to allow Nazo a longer time to interact with people that shared the same love as him, engineering, but they had to get back soon.

"_He could always stay here and come back later,"_ She mused, _"Nah, Nazo wouldn't like that."_

As Nausicaä thought about their stay, Nazo was talking adamantly with the chief.

"So this is why you would use plastic instead of ceramic. It makes it lighter and much more efficient." The chief nodded with along with him,

"I see, that is a great plan, man I wish you could work here."

Nazo laughed, "Sorry, but I belong in the Valley of the Wind, and it is home for me."

The chief engineer laughed, "I know, I know, plus I bet you don't want to be away from your sweetheart."

Nazo raised an eyebrow, "I don't have a girl like that to be honest."

The chief did a double take, "Eh? But I thought that Princess Nausicaä came here because-"

Nazo stopped him before he could finish his sentence. "Sorry to say, but she came here solely to help me feel secure about coming here, I was on the edge of staying behind when princess Kushana invited me, so Nausicaä offered to come along with me."

The chief engineer gained a contemplative look before saying, "She would go that far just for you? You sure she doesn't have feeling for you?"

Nazo shrugged, "Nothing beyond platonic I'm afraid, she is extremely kind though, so I am sure she would do this for anybody, since that is just the way she is, and I respect that."

The chief laughed, "Nothing beyond platonic eh? Maybe you have some feeling for your princess?"

Nazo chuckled, "Even if I did, there would be next to no chance that I would marry her, you should know that, but no, I am not planning on developing feeling for anyone anytime soon. I have much more important and or interesting things to work on, these engines for example."

The chief smiled, "then let's get a move on shall we?"

They two worked for hours on different things, whether it was for the planes or gliders. They only reason they stopped was because Nausicaä had informed them it was time for them to leave.

"Thank you so much for your help!" exclaimed the chief as the trio walked out of the warehouse. "We will use all we learned to better improve everything we have."

Nazo smiled, "No problem."

With that Nazo laid down on the glider and Nausicaä jumped on and took off. On the way back Nazo spoke up.

"Sorry for taking you on that trip… You looked bored."

Nausicaä laughed, "No worries, when you and the chief went to the next room, I went out and did some stall shopping with the prize money we earned earlier."

"Oh? Did you get anything?"

Nausicaä shook her head, "Unfortunately, there was not too much I could have gotten that we don't have already."

Nazo nodded his head. "I gotcha."

The rest of the ride back was silent.

After returning, The two met up with Kushana and had a delicious dinner. Finally, Nazo retired to his room for bed. There was a knock on his door. Nazo opened it to reveal Nausicaä. She looked nervous.

"Umm, about before… I'm sorry I forced you so much about your nightmares…"

Nazo smiled, "It is fine, you were only worried."

Nausicaä calmed down a bit, "Did you want to talk about it?"

Nazo put a hand through his hair in thought, until finally he said, "Sure."

Nausicaä nodded and walked in his room and sat on his bed, and Nazo closed the door.

Well, I broke my quota of 3000 words and went to 4000 as a pseudo apology for not releasing in a while. I had exams recently, and I was studying for those rather than writing this.

I get the feeling that I have done the whole *Nazo cuts something with Shattered Dream* bit to death by now. Seems he is always doing something with it every other chapter, hope you guys don't blame me for it.

As a side note the names of the princes is something I came up with. If they have names in the manga, which I am sure they do, I am way too into this to actually find them.

After writing this far, I really don't know that relationship between Nausicaä and Nazo anymore, at least how it is going to end up. I have at least 3 endings for this fan fiction, which all are equally possible, (or I can write all three with each being a separate time line depending on what happens.) If by some odd change of heart, Nausicaä and Nazo do get together, please don't hate me… though I might get some negative reviews on my previous statement. I do assure you that right now that might not be the case, but I am really doing this as just spurts of inspiration, I really don't have an entire set plan on all of this, and there are a lot, and I mean A LOT, of unknowns. I have said to other writers in my reviews that the writer usually knows what is best for their story. So if the two getting together is what is "best" well, it may just happen. If you guys want to tell me what you think of this, shoot me a pm.

As always, if you liked it, tell me what was done well whether it was the story or just the grammar. If you disliked it, tell me what was wrong, whether I had grammatical errors, or something is too OOC.

Thanks for reading this, please review.


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